No longer a hero
by Arikae
Summary: Takes place after Damon returns from the other side. Everyone is angry at Stefan for giving up on Damon except Damon. After a trip to Portland they find out what Stefan went through during the month after the other side collapsed. Rated T for the torture.


**Author's note: I wrote this story after Caroline told Stefan she hated him. If anyone has read my other story you know that I am a Defan (non-slash) girl. I have recently re-watched episodes in season 5 and Caroline said something that is so true. It's not fair that someone who is good can not be forgiven when they do something bad, but others are so easily forgiven because that's just who they are. I can rant for longer, but I'll stop there because there are other things you need to know before you read this.**

**1) I am so sorry. I kind of made Caroline a bit of a b*tch. I love her but for this story I need her to be OOC.**

**2) I had no idea who the Gemini Coven were when I wrote the story so I had to make it up and I was totally/completely off track but I can't change the story so...**

**3) You could say that Stefan's a little OOC as well because he's not as strong as he is in the TV show. I needed him a little vulnerable.**

**4) I am getting very lazy and can't be bothered posting my stories in chapters anymore so you get it in one big chapter :D****5) Elena did not lose her memories of Damon. I really do like them together.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters :(**

**Warning: un-betaed.**

Stefan sat at the bar near Whitmore College, alone. He seemed to have lost a lot of friends over the summer. Alaric, though they've never been good friends, can't stand the sight of him. Elena won't talk to him because he gave up on her boyfriend, his brother. Jeremy is stuck within his own grief over losing Bonnie. And then there's Caroline. His ex-best friend. The one that hated him the most out of all of them. Stefan downed another shot glass at the thought of Caroline. He found out yesterday, from Enzo of all people, that Caroline had a thing for him. He didn't know what to do about it. He didn't know because he didn't feel the same way. Even if he did, he wouldn't do anything about it because he was starting to think he was cursed. When he was with Elena, she was in constant danger. Lexi died because she was like a sister to him. Ivy died because he was trying to start a new life and he chose her to start it with. The strange thing is, Stefan was okay with being alone. Alone was better for him and safer for everyone else. If everyone would've just left him alone, he would still be an underpaid mechanic working for a jerk. Everything would've been great, except for one thing. If they had left him alone, he wouldn't have been at the family crypt the night Damon returned. He wouldn't have been there to touch Damon, to feel that assurance that his big brother was really back from the dead. He wouldn't have been there to hug his brother and hear him say, _I'm back, Stef!_ And that, he would never trade for anything, even a normal human life. So if the whole town wanted to hate him, that's okay because the one person that does matter, doesn't and that's all Stefan wants or needs.

He jumped when someone slapped him on the shoulder and sat down next to him. He turned and gave his brother a small smile. "Want to come join us?" Damon nudged his head over at the table with all his ex-friends and some he barely knew. All the supernaturals of mystical falls were here. Elena, Caroline, Alaric and his witch/doctor girlfriend, Jo, Luke and Liv (brother and sister witches) and Tyler.

Stefan scoffed at Damon's invitation. "You must want me dead if you're inviting me to join them."

"Nah…they don't want you dead!" He turned to the table. "Do you guys?" There was no answer. Damon frowned and turned back to the bar. "Hmmm…this is an interesting change. Usually everyone wants me dead and loves you."

Stefan had to laugh at that and raised his glass, "And strangely enough I'm fine with that." He clinked his shot glass against Damon's and downed it. "I'm going to go find a car to take apart." He got up to leave but Damon stopped him. He raised his eyebrows at Damon, silently asking what the matter is.

"I need your help with something." He whispered to Stefan.

Stefan sat back down, knowing the situation was serious. "Anything."

"Bonnie's still alive back where we were and I need you to check out the Gemini Coven of witches for me."

Stefan tried not to react to the name of the Coven. He knew it too well. "How do you know Bonnie's still alive?" He asked instead.

"I was at our family crypt last night and I found her stuffed bear there. I know she sent it as a sign. We need to get her back."

Stefan frowned, "Why were you at our family crypt?"

Damon looked at him annoyed, "That's what you got out of that?" Stefan just shrugged. "If you must know, I was looking for you." Stefan smiled. He didn't ask why because he already knew. Damon was worried about him. Considering he had only just gotten back and all he wanted to do was spend time with Elena, it meant a lot to Stefan that Damon would take some time to check on him.

"The Gemini Coven was one of the last leads I checked out." _And it's not a place I want to go back to. _"There's not much there."

Damon nodded, "That's because they had a secret they didn't want out. I told you about Kai." Stefan nodded, remembering the story about the psychotic magicless warlock that was trapped on the other side with Damon and Bonnie. "The Gemini Coven are the ones responsible for putting him there. If we can find out how they built the prison…"

"We can figure out how to get Bonnie back." Stefan nodded and got up. He had to do this no matter what the cost. He owed it to his brother. Stefan slapped his brother on the back. "Leave it to me." He didn't tell him that sending him back there was a death sentence.

* * *

**_Two months ago…_**

_Stefan was sitting at the table with the head of the Gemini Coven. She was a woman in her sixties. Dark skin, pale eyes and hair blacker than the night sky. "If your brother was on the other side when it collapsed then he is gone. There is no surviving that. I'm sorry."_

"_That's it?" Stefan was beyond furious. The witches had made him wait over a week to see this woman and this is all she could tell him. "You needed to consult with your Coven to tell me that."_

"_I am sorry that it is not what you want to hear but that is the truth. Your brother is dead."_

"_I don't believe that. I've been looking for a way for over a month now and it has led me here. You're not telling me something." Stefan's voice was low and dangerous. He could feel himself lose control._

"_I am not telling you what you want to hear." She gave him a smug smile. "I've heard about the events surrounding the Salvatore Brothers and havoc you've wrecked on the small town of Mystic falls." She sounded disgusted. "Everything you've done for the doppelganger, Elena Gilbert has led you down this road. Your brother is dead and you have no one to blame but yourself. The truth of it is our world is better off without Damon Salvatore."_

"_Not my world." Stefan growled before he launched himself at the witch. She didn't expect it and Stefan had dealt with enough witches to know that restraining their mouth and hands was enough to render them powerless. "Let's see what happens when we send a witch to a side that no longer exists." He whispered dangerously in her ear before expose her jugular to his fangs…_

* * *

Stefan drove to his cabin out in the woods and gathered his gear for the trip to Portland. These witches were holding back on him and it didn't matter how great of a reason they had to keep their secret, they had a way of getting his brother back and they chose to leave him in that prison. He gave up on his brother because of them, he won't give up on Bonnie. Damon needed Bonnie back and so did her friends. If this is the last thing he could do for them he will do it. Stefan threw the duffel bag into the passenger seat of his Porsche and was about to get in when an SUV pulled up behind him. Alaric. Stefan closed the door and walked up to the driver. He stood about a feet from Alaric and folded his arms, looking very thoughtful. "Let me guess. Damon is worried about me going alone so he sent his no-longer-a-vampire best friend to watch my back."

Alaric smirked at that. "Don't flatter yourself. I don't trust you to do this so I told Damon I was going to help you out when in truth I'm making sure you don't let him down again." They stood their ground, glaring at each other in silence before Stefan backed off.

"Fine. We'll take your car." Stefan grabbed his bag from his porche and threw it in the back seat of the SUV before getting in the front. "Let's go."

* * *

**On the road…**

The two travelled in silence which was fine considering both were not very talkative men, but Alaric didn't like to go into situations without knowing the full story. "You going to tell me about this Gemini Coven or should I learn on the job?"

"Didn't Damon tell you anything?" Stefan asked, looking over at the teacher.

"He told me they were responsible for the place he and Bonnie ended up, on the other side."

Stefan nodded, "They're very secretive. They keep to themselves. It took me a week to get a meeting with their elder just to be told there was nothing they could do."

Alaric rolled his eyes, "And you just took that answer because it was the easiest thing to do."

Stefan closed his eyes. "That's what I should've done." Alaric frowned at him before turning his eyes back on the road. Something about the way Stefan said that wasn't right. There was regret and guilt in his voice, but it didn't make sense. Suddenly Alaric felt sorry for the man. Maybe he's been overly hard on Stefan. No one really knew what Stefan had been doing during the time after the other side collapsed.

"What aren't you telling me?"

Stefan opened his eyes and suddenly he looked so much older. He pulled out a notepad from his pocket and pulled out a page, handing it over to Alaric. Alaric looked at the address on paper. It was a bar in Portland. "Most of the warlocks and witches from the coven hang there. Drop me off a couple of blocks away and then head over there to see what you can get from them."

"We should stick together." Alaric was worried now. Stefan was acting different.

"Not if you want to live." Stefan had to put his hand out to stop himself from hitting the dashboard when Alaric slammed on the breaks. "What the…" He frowned when Alaric shoved the gear into park and pulled the keys out of the ignition.

"We're not going any further until you tell me everything." Alaric demanded.

Stefan shook his head. He should've just kept his mouth shut, but then, not telling Alaric could put him in more danger. He rubbed his eyes with his hand, tired. "You want to know why I gave up?" Alaric narrowed his eyes, he wasn't expecting this conversation but he nodded for Stefan to continue. "This elder I went to see. Her name's Ingrid. She knows about everything that's happened in Mystic Falls. Everything about me and Damon and Elena." Stefan gave a short laugh. "I was at my last straw and she dared to tell me that the world was better off without my brother." Alaric feared what Stefan was about to tell him. "I lost control. I tore her throat open and I drank and drank and drank…" Stefan licked his lips as if he could still taste to blood. "I heard her heart beat slower and slower until it almost stopped." Stefan stared into the distance as he re-lived the dark memory. "Then I heard Damon's voice or at least his voice from the past. _Stop trying to save me._" Stefan's focus returned to the present. He turned to Alaric. "The last time I turned into the Ripper was because Damon was dying. So many people died because I couldn't lose my brother. I couldn't let it happen again. I stopped drinking and fed her my blood, then got out of there. I ran as far from people as I could get and drank as much animal blood as I could to stop the cravings. When they finally did. I found a place and a job and tried to start over."

Alaric sat in the car in silence after Stefan finished his story. He didn't know what Stefan was going through. He couldn't have but he never bothered asking either. He's been making Stefan feel guilty for giving up on Damon when the truth was so much more than that. What made it worse was, he was angry at Stefan for giving up because he himself had given up too but he thought it would be okay because Stefan was still out there looking. So when he found out Stefan wasn't looking, instead of telling Stefan it was okay, he lashed out. "I'm sorry, Stefan."

"There's nothing to be sorry about." Stefan told him. "I did give up."

"No. I had no right to blame you when I gave up as well." Stefan looked at him, not sure he understood. Alaric smiled, sadly. "It's not your fault."

Stefan nodded. He didn't believe it wasn't his fault but he accepted Alaric's apology none the less. "We should keep going. I want to get there before it gets dark."

Alaric shook his head. "Not after what you just told me. This is a suicide mission for you."

Stefan scoffed. "I can take care of myself, Alaric and I'm doing this whether you drive me there or not. We're almost at the border. I can run there faster than your car."

"Fine." Alaric conceded. Stefan was right. He was no longer a vampire. There was nothing he could do to stop Stefan. "But we are not splitting up. I said I was coming along to make sure you didn't let Damon down again. Well now, I'm coming along to watch your back."

Stefan smirked, "Whatever. Just don't take it personally if I get you killed."

Alaric laughed and started up the engine again. "I'll try not to."

* * *

**Portland, Oregon…**

Alaric told Stefan to stay in the car while he checked out the small apartment building that was the home to the witch, Ingrid. Stefan didn't like it but it made more sense. Stefan would trigger all sorts of spells if he were to be recognised. They didn't know that a spell was placed on the borders of the town and it was triggered as soon as Stefan and Alaric drove through the border. Eyes have been on them since they arrived. They watched as the taller man got out of the car and into the house where Ingrid lived. They weren't interested in him. They wanted the Salvatore.

* * *

**Elena and Caroline's dorm room…**

Damon and Elena were making out on her bed when his phone buzzed. "Ignore it." Elena giggled. She didn't know what Damon was up to with Stefan and Alaric and Damon planned to keep it that way. Damon groaned when it buzzed again.

"I have to get it. It could be Alaric needing sex advice." Elena laughed and rolled off her boyfriend. Damon reached for his phone. It was Alaric. He turned to Elena. "Babe, why don't you start a bath and I'll join you after this?" Elena smiled, seductively and left for the bathroom. He waited until he heard the water running before starting.

"What've you found?" Damon whispered.

"Nothing yet." Alaric answered, "We just got here."

"Then why the hell are you calling!" Damon said in a harsh whisper, annoyed that his afternoon with Elena was interrupted for nothing.

"Because, Damon, Stefan held back on you."

Damon sighed, "Look, I know you have your opinion about my brother but…"

"It's not that!" Alaric interrupted him. "Stefan almost drained the coven elder when he was here the last time."

"What?"

"It's a long story. I'm at her house now, but you need to get here ASAP. If these witches see Stefan, they're going to kill him!"

"Then get the hell out of there."

"I'm not a vampire anymore, Damon. I can't force him to leave…" A pain filled scream came in from the streets. "Stefan." Alaric ran to the living room window and pulled open the curtain. He looked in horror as an unconscious Stefan was dragged from his car and shoved into the trunk of a tanned sedan by two men. Alaric ran as fast as he could but he knew he would never make it in time. Vampire speed is something he really missed about being a vampire.

"Ric! Ric!" Damon yelled into the phone. Elena came out of the bathroom with a towel wrapped around her.

"Damon, what's wrong?"

He ignored her. "Ric!" He screamed again. He sighed in relief when Alaric's voice sounded but it was short-lived.

"They've got Stefan." Alaric was out of breath. "Damn it!"

"Follow them!"

"I can't. They're gone!" He pulled out the piece of paper. "I'm going to check out a bar Stefan gave me. Meet me at the An Cupla."

"I'm on my way." Damon gave Elena the paper he wrote on. He was about to leave when Elena grabbed him.

"What the hell is going on?" Damon sighed. He should've known it wouldn't be easy to keep this from Elena, but he didn't have time to tell her the whole story. He took her by the shoulders and spoke calmly.

"Stefan's in trouble. I need to go help him."

Elena rolled her eyes, "Stefan's a big boy, Damon. He can look after himself. He's actually very good at it." Damon heard the double meaning. She put a hand to his cheek. "I only just got you back."

"Elena, Stefan's in trouble because I asked him to do something for me. I'm not going to bail on him." He sighed, annoyed "Anyway, Ric's there as well. So if you won't let me save my brother, at least let me save Ric." His tone was harsher than he had intended but there was no time to sugar coat anything now.

"Then I'm coming with you."

"Fine, let's go."

* * *

**Small house in the woods of Portland...**

Stefan woke up in a damp basement. It was only small. His arms ached. That was when he realised he was chained between two wooden columns, shirtless. His arms were stretched above him while his ankles shackled tightly to the column. There no room for any movement. He tried to pull but the chains wouldn't budge. "Glad to see you awake." Stefan's head swung towards the voice to his right. Ingrid. "I'm surprised you returned after what you did to me the last time we met."

Stefan glared at her. "The last time we met you lied to me."

"It seems you've learned something since you left."

"My brother is back from the prison you built to punish Kai." Stefan revealed. He smiled at the shock on the woman's face. "I guess you don't know everything about us after all."

"Is Kai back?" Stefan narrowed his eyes at the fear he heard. Suddenly there was a sharp pain in his head. "I asked you a question!"

"NO!" Stefan hung in the chains when the pain finally let up.

"Good." She stood and walked up to Stefan, lifting his head up roughly by his hair. "You will tell us everything you know and then you will suffer the worst pain for eternity." She stepped aside to reveal two men coming down the stairs. "These are my sons, Abel and Jared." She let Stefan go and walked up to her boys. She handed one of them a syringe. "Give him this before you begin the _interrogation_." The boy smiled and nodded. Stefan watched her leave as dread filled his stomach.

**Six hours later…**

Alaric stuck his head out of the back door of the bar. He looked back and forth. "Ric!" He heard someone call. "What are you doing?"

"Good, you're here." He said to his best friend, recently back from the dead. He went back inside and pulled out a body with him. "Help me out." It was a young girl in high school. Dark, long hair and petite.

Damon shook his head at the scene, then pulled out his phone. "Elena, pull the car around back." He put his car back into his pocket. "Who the hell is she?"

"She likes older men." Alaric looked uncomfortable. "I knocked her out." As soon as Elena arrived with the car, Damon popped the trunk and shoved her in. He tied her wrists behind her back and gagged her. Then they got into the car and drove off.

"Now, who is she?" Damon asked, turning back to Alaric in the back seat.

Alaric smiled again. "I hit the jackpot. Her grandmother is Ingrid."

Damon waited for Alaric to elaborate and when he didn't, "SO?"

"Right, you don't know about Ingrid. She's the coven elder."

Damon grinned. Now he understood. "We use her to get Stefan back and more."

* * *

**Basement…**

Stefan clenched his jaw to stop from screaming out as Abel slowly drove a heated iron rod through his abdomen. He nodded to his brother who was holding a blowtorch. He heated the iron near and skin. Stefan strained as the rod heated up inside him, then hammer came down on the rod, breaking it. Stefan lost consciousness. If Kai came from the same coven then no wonder he was psychotic. The rod remained inside so that Stefan couldn't heal. Jared didn't' allow him to stay in the comfort of unconsciousness. Stefan was shocked awake with ice water. Then the process was repeated.

* * *

Damon and Alaric slowly and stealthily made their way through the trees towards the small cabin. It didn't take much to scare the little girl into telling them about this house. She was young and easy to intimidate and Damon was the king when it came to intimidation. They were near the clearing where the house was when pain lanced through Damon and Alaric's head. "Damon Salvatore, I assume."

Damon clenched his jaw and looked up at the woman on the porch. He reached into his pocket and pulled out something. The shiny locket caught Ingrid's eyes and she immediately released the two men. Damon sighed and got up, before helping Alaric to his feet. "That wasn't very nice." Damon told him, petulantly. "Now I'm going to have to tell my friend to cause as much pain to your beautiful little…"

"Tell me where she is or I will kill your brother."

Damon's expression turned deadly. "Stefan dies and I'll turn your little Chloe into a vampire, then stick her in a room full of little witches for her to feed on until she hates herself so much that she impales herself on a stake!" Alaric shivered at that. He knew Damon would never do it but it does tell him what kind of a vampire he used to be. "Here's the plan. You give us Stefan and you're free to use your little location spell to find her."

Ingrid glared at him before calling out to her son. "Abel, Jared. Bring the vampire here!" It was five minutes later when two young men appeared with an unconscious Stefan between them. A look was exchanged between sons and mother before Ingrid spoke. "Here's your brother." Damon's blood froze at the sight of blood on Stefan. He concentrated his hearing and sighed when he heard Stefan's heartbeat. He was surprised when he heard something else. It was so soft. Nobody with normal hearing would be able to hear it no matter how close they were. It was meant for Damon only. Damon smiled as he got the message. "Bring him over here." The boys looked at their mother, who nodded to them. They dragged Stefan across the clearing to Damon. As soon as Stefan was within arm's length, he grabbed the two boys by the chin. "Kill your mother." He compelled one, then turned to the one and did the same. Damon caught Stefan as they let him go and smirked at the horror on Ingrid's face as her boys stalked towards her with their knives. "I'm sure you can fend them off but not without hurting them." Damon and Alaric ran as fast as they could with Stefan between them.

They finally arrived at Damon's car. Alaric climbed into the back seat while Damon helped Stefan into the passenger seat. "Aaahhh…" Stefan gasped at the pain in his abdomen. His breathing was short and laboured. Damon closed the door and ran to the other side. Alaric placed a hand on Stefan's naked shoulder.

"Just a little longer, Stefan. Once we're out of here, we'll take care of you."

Damon spoke on the phone as he drove. "Elena, get out of there and meet us at the border." He looked over at his brother. "Hang in there, Stef."

Stefan opened his eyes and turned his head towards his brother. "Sorry."

Damon frowned at him. "Shut up."

"I…should…shou...have told you…" His breathing came out in short gasps as the pain overtook his senses. He let out an involuntary sob.

"Shut up." Damon said again, this time it was softer. "We'll talk later." Slowly Stefan lost his hold on consciousness. Alaric studied Damon. Damon looked calm but his grip on the steering wheel told him otherwise.

"How did you know you could compel those two?"

Damon had to smile despite the situation. Stefan managed to keep a level head even after being tortured. "Stefan told me when I was listening for a heartbeat. He must've worked out the two boof-heads weren't warlocks."

Alaric nodded then patted Damon on the shoulder, "He'll be okay."

"He better be." Damon was almost trembling with anger now. "For the Gemini Coven's sake, he better be."

Damon looked down at all the blood over his brother. Stefan's hand fell away from his abdomen revealing something Damon couldn't see before. "What the…" He turned his eyes back on the road. "Ric, take a look at his injuries."

Alaric leaned over the front seat to get a look. He frowned at the dark objects only justing stick out.

Reaching over he carefully touched one. "It's metal. Reach behind him and see if you feel anything." Damon did and felt metal as well. One look at Damon's face told Alaric what he needed to know. "We have to stop and get it out. There are five of them at least. He won't heal with them in him."

Damon nodded. He pulled out his phone and dialled Elena. "Elena, change of plans. Go to that motel we passed on route 34. Get us a room and compel anyone there to leave." He threw his phone on the dashboard.

**Motel…**

Elena gasped as Alaric and Damon dragged Stefan into the motel room. "Elena, grab my toolbox from the back of the car." Alaric ordered as he and Damon lowered Stefan onto the bed. He went to the bathroom and soaked a couple of hand towels and towels. "We need to wipe off the blood to get a clearer look." He handed a towel to Damon and together they worked stoically at getting rid of the blood. They heard Elena return with the box, but didn't acknowledge her. Stefan groaned, a hand reached to shove away the hands causing him pain. Damon and Alaric both had to push aside his hands several times. Finally Elena couldn't stay back. She sat near the head of the bed and took one of Stefan's hands.

"It's okay, Stefan. We'll take care of you." Stefan only tossed in pain.

"Okay, that's as clean as it's going to get." Alaric opened the tool box and took out a pair of pliers. He took a breath, not sure if he was going to be able to do what he's about to do. "Where's a doctor when you need one?"

"Just get it over with." Damon ordered.

"Hold him down and put something between his teeth."

Damon nodded and folded a clean towel between Stefan's teeth, then held him down by the shoulders. "Elena, sit on his legs."

Elena straddled lower legs and held him down by the upper. "I'm ready."

Alaric placed a hand against Stefan's sternum while he took the tip of one of the rods in the mouth of the plier. He took a deep breath and pulled. Damon winced at the sound of the rod coming out. Stefan's eyes shot open as the pain of what was happened registered. He screamed into the towel in his mouth, struggling against the hands holding him down. He almost kicked Elena off but she held on and readjusted her hold. For a second, Stefan looked straight into Damon's eyes. He was pleading with him to stop the pain. Damon couldn't stand it. He closed his eyes to block it out.

Alaric finally got the first one out and wiped away the sweat dripping off his brow before he moved onto the next one. Stefan fought just as hard against the second and third one but he lost his strength to fight by the fourth rod. Damon moved off him and took Stefan's hand in his. "Almost over, brother." Stefan gripped his hand as the rod was pulled out.

"Damon, turn him over. I can't get to the last one. It's too far in." Damon rolled him over onto his stomach and saw the last rod sticking out of Stefan's back. Damon placed a shaky hand on the back of Stefan's head. He almost broke down when Stefan whimpered at the last rod being pulled out. It was finally over or so they thought.

It was Elena who noticed it first. "Why isn't he healing?"

"What?" Damon asked, looking up at her.

"Stefan's not healing."

Damon looked at the wounds in his back. Elena was right. Stefan should've already started to heal. "What did she do to you?"

Alaric ran outside and returned with a first aid kit. "We have to slow the bleeding until we can figure this out." He taped gauzes over the wounds. "Sit him up." Damon lifted his brother up for Alaric to wrap a bandage around his abdomen. "That will have to do for now."

Damon tore into his wrist and pressed it against Stefan's lips, he winced as his brother started sucking. They didn't have the time to find blood for Stefan, so this will have to do. He pulled his hand away after he gave what he could afford to and gently lowered Stefan back onto the pillow before he stood. Elena could feel the fury coming off him. "They're dead." Elena stopped him from speeding off.

"You can't go back there. We got lucky the first time. You won't be so lucky again." Elena reasoned. "You can't help Stefan if you're dead."

"What am I supposed to do then?" Damon grilled out.

"Elena's right. We should take him back home. Jo, Luke or Liv may be able to help." Alaric suggested. When he saw that Damon was still not convinced, he changed tactics. "Ingrid's dangerous. We have to get Stefan far away from her. He's safer with us back home." He smiled when he noticed Damon finally submitting to the truth of his words.

"Fine, let's go."

* * *

**Stefan's place...**

It was decided that they were safest at Stefan's house in the woods. It was secluded and quiet. A good place for Stefan to rest and recover, so long as they find out what's wrong with him. Damon and Alaric laid him on the double bed in the one bedroom cabin. Elena was outside calling Luke and Liv. Damon looked around. "So this is where Stefan decided to start his new life." He scoffed, "With all our money, this is what he came up with."

"Stefan's not as extravagant as his brother."

Damon rolled his eyes at his best friend. "You think I don't know that. Everything about this place screams Stefan. It's simple and normal. Exactly how he has always wanted to live." Damon nodded, proudly. "Good on him for trying." Alaric looked at him amused. He's never seen this side of Damon. Stefan was right. Damon didn't want him to give up his life searching for him. He was about to tell Damon what Stefan told him but a groan caught both their attention. "Stefan."

Stefan was finding it hard to open his eyes. There was a force holding down his eyelids and a burning pain around his middle. _What's happening to me? _"Stefan." _Damon? _He tried to open his eyes again. Damon smiled when Stefan's eyes finally fluttered open. "About time, Sleeping Beauty."

"Damon." His throat was dry.

Damon turned to Alaric. "Check Stefan's fridge for any blood supplies." Alaric nodded and headed to the kitchen fridge. He turned back to his brother and found him trying to sit up. "Don't. Your wounds aren't healing and the more you move the more blood you'll lose."

Stefan shook his head and closed his eyes. "Blood loss isn't the problem." Stefan told him. "She poisoned me with something."

"What?" Alaric got back in time to hear the last part. "Do you know what it is?" Stefan shook his head. Alaric handed Damon the bag of blood. "Here." He watched as Damon lifted Stefan's head to help him drink.

"Thanks." Stefan sighed as the blood made him feel stronger. "I needed that."

"You need more than that."

Stefan could hear the anger in his brother's voice. "You're angry I didn't tell you about me and the Gemini Coven."

"Damn right, I'm angry. You had a bounty on your head! You knew you would be in danger as soon as you set foot past that border and you still went."

"You asked for my help."

"I asked for your help, not your life!"

"Damon." Stefan tried to push himself up but it only caused more pain.

"Stop moving!" Damon ordered. "We'll talk about this later."

Stefan held out his hand to Damon and Damon took it. "I'm sorry I couldn't help Bonnie."

"Don't worry about it." He placed a hand on Stefan's forehead and sent a small suggestion. "Go to sleep." Stefan's eyes slowly closed as he fell into a restful slumber.

Elena entered the room. "I can't get a hold of anyone. They may be at Caroline's Friendsgiving."

"So! They can still answer their phones."

Elena winced, "Caroline didn't want any supernatural drama interrupting the dinner so…"

"Both of you call them, text them, until their phones blow up!" He looked at Alaric. "How about your girlfriend?"

"She's in surgery."

Elena and Alaric looked at him in shock when Stefan's alarm clock went flying across the room, smashing against the wall. Alaric sighed. He was frustrated as well. "Look, let's just wait and see what's happening with Stefan then if there's no change for the better I'll head over to the hospital."

"I'm not good at waiting." Damon growled.

"Good thing Stefan has a cupboard full of alcohol." Alaric took Damon by the shoulders and led him out of the room. He gestured for Elena to follow. "There's something you both need to know about Stefan."

**At the dining table…**

Alaric told Damon and Elena what Stefan had told him in the car. After the story, the room was quiet save for Elena's crying. She had treated Stefan badly since he told her he had given up. She hated him for it. Alaric put a hand on her shoulder, rubbing it. "It wasn't just you. We all reacted badly."

"But I should've known better. Stefan doesn't just give up for no reason." No one had anything to say to that.

"I sent him there." Damon said full of self-loathing. "I sent him there!"

"It's not your fault. You didn't know." Alaric sighed in frustration. "I didn't tell you guys this to make you feel guilty. I told you so that you would fight for him! He needs his friends right now. You didn't hear him when he told me that story." Alaric frowned as Stefan's voice in the car came back to him. "He knew he could die and he didn't care."

"He's a martyr. Typical Stefan." Damon scoffed.

"No. Not typical Stefan. Stefan will put himself in danger for anyone of us but he goes into everything with the will to come out the other side alive." Alaric shook his head. "Not this time."

Damon shook his head, denying what Alaric was saying. "Stefan wouldn't do that. I died to bring him back from the dead. He wouldn't do that to me."

"Not if he was thinking straight, but I don't think he is. Something is eating at him."

"What…" A gut-wrenching scream interrupted them. Stefan!

They bolted towards the room to find Stefan with his head thrown back, arching against the bed. "AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

"Stefan!" Damon ran up to him and looked down at the bandages, tearing them off. The puncture wounds looked fresh again, as if Stefan had only just been stabbed. Another scream and this time Damon could see the invisible rod piercing Stefan's stomach. "What the hell did she do to you?" Thankfully, Stefan passed out by the repeat of the third rod.

"It's almost like he's being tortured again."

They couldn't wait any longer for help. They needed a witch. NOW! "Wrap up his wounds. We got a party to crash!"

**Caroline Forbes's new house...**

Caroline looked at her watch. Elena had called her to tell her she would be late and to start dinner without her. She wanted her best friend there with her but she wasn't going to break her own rule and pull out her phone. She sat at the head of the table and held out her hand to each side. Matt and Tyler sat closest to her. They smiled and took her hand. Next to Tyler was Liz followed by Luke. "Thank you for coming. We've had one hell of a year!" Everyone laughed. "But our friendship got us through. I am so thankful…" Her door suddenly burst open and before they could even get up to defend themselves against the threat, Damon appeared in front of them all. "Damon! Did you have to break my door?!"

"That was uncalled for even for you, Damon." Matt Donovan said. He frowned at the blood on Damon's shirt. "What happened?"

Caroline got over her anger and suddenly the worst scenarios appeared in her head. "Oh my god. Elena!"

"She's fine!" Damon glared at the twins. "You two. Get in the lounge room now!"

Liv and Luke were confused but they did as they were told. "What happened to him?" Caroline heard Luke ask.

"What's going on, Damon? Is it Alaric?" She tried to push past him. Damon stopped her. "No, it's not. And it's not Jeremy, or Enzo for that matter." He left her to think about that and went back to his brother. Liv had opened the black button-up shirt they had hastily put on Stefan before they left and was in the process of cutting off the bandages. "Can you help him?"

"Tell us everything." Luke demanded.

"Ingrid from the Gemini Coven tortured him and then injected him with some kind of poison." Liv's hand froze, then looked up at her brother in fear.

"Why would you do something as stupid as confront the head of one of the most powerful coven in North America?" Luke growled. "There's nothing we can do!"

Damon grabbed him by the throat and lifted him off the ground. Liv was about to stop him when Alaric restrained her and covered her mouth. "He won't hurt him." Alaric prayed he spoke the truth.

"It sounds to me like you both knew about his coven and decided not to share while my brother ran around trying to get me back. You knew where I was and didn't say a word!" Liv's eyes widened and shook her head frantically. Damon looked at her and lowered her brother to the ground. Allowing him to breathe a little but not talk. "Ric is going to let you go but one utter of a spell and I will snap his neck!" Liv nodded. "Good." Alaric let her go. She swallowed. "Talk!"

Liv jumped at the loud order before she spoke. "We're from the Gemini Coven but we failed our task to stop the Travellers so we've been banished." Her voice was shaking. "Luke and I were too young but we heard stories about a boy killing his whole family of witches. The coven trapped him in the day he killed them as punishment. We didn't know that was where you got sent."

"Yet when I told you all about it. You didn't mention a word." Damon squeezed a little harder.

"You were back! We didn't think it was important!" Liv cried.

Damon let her brother drop to the ground, spluttering for much needed air. Liv crouched next to him, crying. "Do you know what Ingrid gave Stefan?"

Liv shook her head, "but we can find out."

Luke grabbed her hand, "We can't go against them. They'll kill us."

Liv looked up at the vampires. "And they'll kill us if we don't."

Luke and Liv stood and moved to the couch again. Liv stood behind Stefan's head while Luke sat on the edge of the couch, his hands hovering above Stefan's wounds. They started chanting together. It didn't take long. They looked at each other in shock. "What did Stefan do to Ingrid?"

"He almost killed her. Why?" Damon didn't like their expressions.

"Did her sons torture him?"

"Yes."

"They're very good at that." Luke whispered. "This poison makes the victim relive the torture. Physically."

"Usually the victim dies before the third time but Stefan's…"

"Immortal."

"Why won't his wounds heal?" Alaric asked.

Liv shook her head. "I don't know. I've never seen it used on a vampire before."

Everyone's attention turned to the man on the couch, who looked to be waking up. Damon, roughly, pulled Luke off the couch and took his spot. "Hey brother." He said as he gave Stefan's shoulder a squeeze.

Stefan squinted at his brother then looked around. "Where am I?"

Caroline stepped up into his line of vision. "My place."

Stefan couldn't help but laugh at that. He groaned and coughed at the pain, but he was still laughing. "Got myself invited…somehow."

"Easy, brother. It's not that funny and you're still not invited. We crashed the party."

That just made Stefan laugh harder. The pain must be making him delirious. "Technically…I crashed it…you were all…invited…"

"Aren't we getting petty now?"

Stefan pushed himself up with Damon's help and dragged his legs over the side to sit up. "What are we doing here?"

"Well, it turns out Tweedledee and Tweedledum here are Geminis!" Damon glared at them.

Stefan gave them a 'you're kidding me' look. "I'm so sick of getting screwed by you and your coven. Get me out of here, Damon."

"I think you've done enough moving. Those wounds haven't stopped bleeding." Alaric spoke up from behind the couch.

Stefan closed his eyes. "I'm not staying here."

Caroline folded her arms. Seeing Stefan hurt was making her rethink hating him but if Stefan didn't want to be here she wasn't going to beg him to stay. "The door's the one your brother broke."

Elena walked up to her. She couldn't blame her for the way she was acting, she didn't know the whole story. "Caroline."

Caroline turned to her, "What? Just because he's hurt doesn't mean I'm going to be his friend again. He's a dick! We all lost someone that day but none of us gave up! I needed him! We all needed him to be strong and get Damon and Bonnie back but he got himself a girlfriend and ignored the rest of us."

"Listen here, Barbie…" Damon was about to launch himself at her but Stefan stopped him.

Stefan used his brother as leverage to get himself standing. He could feel Alaric's hand on his back, keeping him steady. He closed his eyes and wrapped an arm around his middle. When the pain got under control he opened his eyes again. He looked at everyone in the room, then stopped when his sights fell back on Caroline. "Sorry to ruin your night. Damon, let's go."

"No can do, brother." Damon took him by the arm to lead him back to the couch, but Stefan pulled his arm away. "Stefan, don't be stubborn."

"I'm not being stubborn. I don't want to be here." Stefan started walking towards the door.

Tyler's hand shot out when Stefan stumbled. "You're in no condition to go anywhere."

"I'm fine." Stefan slapped him on the arm. Tyler grimaced at the strength of the slap. He missed his hybrid strength. "Thanks, but I don't need your help. Or anyone else's for that matter." He took another step and that was as far as he got.

Damon sped past everyone and caught him before he could fall. "That's enough, Stefan." Damon was almost begging for his brother to stop.

Stefan looked at him, sweating from the effort of walking. "I don't need them, Damon." He gave Damon a small smile. "Get me out of here." He said before passing out.

Damon grunted as he dragged Stefan back to the couch. "Sorry, brother, but we're not going anywhere."

Alaric helped him lay him down. "He's lost too much blood. Caroline, we need blood."

"I only have human blood bags."

Damon glared at her. "Does he look like he's in any condition to become the Ripper?" Caroline just nodded and went to get the blood. Matt handed Damon some towels. Damon nodded his thanks and put pressure on the wounds. Stefan started trembling under his administration. Damon lifted the towels. "It's happening again. Good thing he's not conscious."

"We can put a spell on him to keep him unconscious until we find a way to fix this." Liv told them.

"I thought you said you couldn't help."

"We can't, but our mother's grimoire could have something." Luke knew what his sister was thinking and he wanted to help as well. He did feel a little responsible for all this.

"It's the best idea I've heard so far." Alaric shrugged. "If they can keep Stefan comfortable…"

"Fine. We'll do it as soon as we feed him some blood." Damon lifted Stefan up and sat behind him, taking the blood from Caroline and slowly feeding Stefan. Even in his unconscious state Stefan was drawn to the blood like a babe to milk. He drained the bag in minutes. "That's good, brother." He gave the empty bag to Alaric as he lowered Stefan back down, then got up. "Your turn." He said to the twins. They stood in front of the couch, their palms facing downwards above Stefan and started chanting. Damon knelt down at Stefan's head. He could tell his brother was in pain by the crease between his brows. He knew there was no way the twins could completely stop him from feeling the pain. Not that kind of pain.

"It's done. He won't wake up until we undo the spell." Damon just nodded and gently placed a hand against Stefan's forehead. "We'll figure this out."

"Not here, you won't." Caroline never begrudged Stefan for wanting a new life but he ruined their friendship and she won't stop hating him for that. "He didn't want me in his new life? Well, I don't want him in mine and this place is a part of that new life."

"Care…" Matt spoke up, "Look at him. You're still going to kick him out?"

"Matt's right. I mean, Stefan's saved all our lives at least once." Tyler added.

"I don't care." Caroline wasn't budging.

Alaric worried about the murderous glint in Damon's eyes. He stood and slowly stalked towards Caroline as he spoke. "Let me tell you a story. A vampire who just lost his brother went after a coven he thought may lead to bringing his dead brother back. They make him wait…and wait…and wait and then when the big boss lady finally sees him she says 'I know nothing.' She tells him that his brother deserves to be dead." Damon is walking around Caroline now. "The Vampire snaps!" She jumped at the voice in her ear. "He attacks the witch, drinks her blood until she's barely alive but his humanity snaps him back, just in time. He feeds her his blood and is out of there like a bat out of hell." Damon continued circling her. "Now you may think. No big deal. A vampire drinks human blood. The problem is that this vampire isn't like normal vampires. He becomes another person. He can't control it, but this time he did. He tore himself from civilisation for a week to stop his cravings before he dared to return. Do you know who I'm talking about Caroline?" Caroline closed her eyes and nodded. "Because while you were constantly calling him because you're so needy, he was trying to not kill every human he runs into. While you needed to talk, he couldn't. He had to stop looking for his brother because the more he looked the more he lost hope and the more he lost hope, the less control he had on his emotions. You push Stefan far enough and he will turn off his humanity. So the next time, you decide you need to remind him of what he's lost, think about what he needs first." Caroline was shaking now. She didn't know what Stefan was going through. She didn't know she was driving him down a dark path. "You're supposed to be his best friend." Damon spat at her before returning to his brother. Caroline stood there crying. Matt put his arms around her but she pulled away and ran to her room, slamming the door.

Elena sighed, "Damon, that was harsh."

"No, Elena. Harsh is how she's been treating Stefan. That was a wakeup call. She's hurt. Boo hoo! Tell her to get off her high horse or ride away! Either way stop blaming Stefan for all her crap." Then he gestured to Stefan on the couch. "And how can you defend her? Look at Stefan. He's bleeding on her couch and she wants to kick him out!" Damon shook his head. "I thought I was supposed to be the cold one."

Elena agreed with that but Caroline needed her right now. "I'm going to talk to her."

Elena knocked on Caroline's door. "Caroline, can I come in?" When she didn't get a reply, Elena tried the handle. It opened. Elena slipped in and closed the door behind her. Caroline was sitting on the bed with her legs hugged to her chest, sobbing uncontrollably.

"I didn't know." She sobbed, "I didn't know."

"Oh Caroline." Elena crawled onto the bed and hugged her best friend. "It's not your fault. None of us saw it. It's not your fault." She waited for Caroline to calm down before she spoke again. "How long have you had feelings for him?"

Caroline pulled away and wiped her cheeks with her sleeves. "How did you know?"

"There is only one reason why you would be so angry at Stefan. He knows, doesn't he?"

Caroline nodded, "Stupid Enzo told him." She complained. "How is it that a psychopath like Enzo can see it and Stefan can't? Stefan, who is the most sensitive and caring guy I know, couldn't see it?"

Elena laughed, "Guys can be dense that way." Caroline snuggled in Elena's arms as she comforted her.

"Do you remember the day Stefan brought you and Bonnie over with your pillows?"

Elena nodded. "Tyler betrayed your friendship and Stefan thought you needed a girls' night. He picked us up and drove us over."

"It's those little things he does for me that made me fall for him." Elena smiled at that. She knew that feeling. Damon won her heart that way as well. Must run in their blood. "He knows me so well. When he was held by the Travellers, he let me go with Enzo to kill Tom Avery because he knew I wouldn't do it. He knows me so well and yet he couldn't see that I've fallen for him."

Elena hugged her tighter. "You're his best friend, Caroline. He once told me that you can't be friends and be in love with each other at the same time. He just doesn't see you that way, but it doesn't mean he won't."

* * *

**Three hours later…**

The whole gang was asleep around the small apartment room. After hearing Stefan's story they all felt a little guilty and a little protective of their wounded friend. The only ones not asleep were Damon and the twins. Damon was pacing up and down the dining room as the twins poured over their grimoire. "What is taking so long?" Damon demanded, "Doesn't that book have an index or something? Just look up 'poison to torture vampires'!"

Liv rolled her eyes. "It's your turn to answer him."

Luke stood up. "It's a grimoire filled in by generations of…"

"Witches who added to it as they inherited it so it's not that easy to find a spell. Heard you the first ten times."

"Then why do you keep asking?" Luke threw his arms in the air in exasperation.

"You have to give him props for asking the same question ten different ways." Liv turned the page to read the next spell. Luke nodded at the truth of that statement.

"You witches need to have a better system." Damon complained. "What's so hard about…"

"Wait!" Liv put up her hand to shut Damon up. "Luke, read this." They read through the page together, pointing at the relevant words.

"Slows healing abilities."

"Causes the victim to relive pain."

"Here are the ingredients." Luke pointed out.

"Here's the spell to reverse it. Feverfew, sage, eucalyptus, witch hazel and diviners." Liv murmured to herself. "That's easy enough."

"The spell isn't."

"You figured out the spell that made the dead, un-dead so how hard can this one be?"

Luke and Liv exchanged a 'non-witches' look. "A spell's strength depends on many factors, not just the impossibility of what it does." Liv explained. "This spell's strength comes from the person who casts it and the age of it. I've never seen it used on vampires but it was made to deal with vampires. To get information from them. This spell is old."

Damon folded his arms. "Thank you for the lecture on spells. I just need to know one thing. Can you help him?"

Luke and Live exchanged another look. "We think so."

"Excellent. Get what you need and get back here."

Liv nodded, "We'll be back soon. Clear the lounge room while we're gone and lay Stefan in the middle. Luke…" They stood over Stefan and chanted again. "He'll be waking up soon. Get as much blood as you can in him before we get back. This spell is going to take a lot out of him."

As soon as the twins were out the door, he kicked the others awake. "Donovan, Tyler. Clear the lounge room. Ruffnut and Tuffnut need room to do a spell." Stefan groaned. Alaric was with him so Damon went to the fridge to get bags of blood. When he returned Alaric had helped his brother up and was now checking the wounds. "How do they look?"

"Worse." Alaric told him. "There's more tearing. If he wasn't unconscious…"

"Go away." Stefan weakly pushed the hands away. "It hurts."

"Ahh…come on, Stefan. It's just a scratch…well, five scratches." Damon handed him a bag of blood. "Drink." Stefan happily complied.

"Room's clear." Tyler announced, pointing at the couch Stefan was sitting on. "Except for that."

"Up you get, brother." Damon gestured for Alaric to take the other side of Stefan. "Easy." Despite how gentle they were being, Stefan still couldn't stifle the moan. As soon as Stefan was clear, Matt and Tyler lifted the couch and moved it out of the way.

Stefan felt a pain growing in his gut. He closed his eyes as it intensified. "Damon." He touched his middle with his hand. It came away with fresh blood.

"Stefan." Damon and Alaric quickly lowered him to the floor.

Stefan curled into a ball. He tried his hardest not to scream but the third rod was too much. "AAAAAHHHHHH…Dam…Damon." Caroline and Elena came running out of the room. They stopped at the sight of Stefan on the floor in agony. "DAMON!"

"I'm here, Stefan." Damon gripped his shoulder. "I'm here! It's going to be over soon. You're gonna be fine!" Stefan trembled as the last of the torture ended. Damon felt his brother start to relax. He tried to be gentle as he lifted Stefan up, supporting him with an arm around his back. Stefan's head lolled against Damon's shoulder. "Donovan, throw me a blood bag." Matt picked up a bag on the couch and threw it. Damon caught it with one hand and tore it open with his teeth. "Drink up." He held the bag to Stefan's mouth, who sucked at it greedily. "Bring them all over." Damon ordered.

"Is it such a good idea for him to drink so much human blood?" Caroline asked the question they were all worried about.

Damon tore open another bag. "Snugglepot and Cuddlepie said he needs to get as much blood in him as possible before they perform the spell." Damon was about to open a fourth bag when Stefan stopped him.

"No more." Stefan groaned against Damon's shoulder.

"Okay." Damon put down the bag and lowered him to the floor. "Rest." Stefan was about to do just that when the twins walked in.

"We've got everything." Liv pulled out the ingredients and laid them out on the table.

"Diviners" Luke

"Witch hazel." Liv

"Feverfew." Luke.

"Eucalyptus."

"Sage."

"Incense. Candles."

Stefan groaned at the non-stop talking. "Hey B1, B2. Any way you can prepare with less talk?"

The twins looked over and was about to give Damon a piece of their mind when they saw Stefan looking ten times worse than when they left. "Fine!" Damon shook his head at them.

"What can we do?" Tyler asked Liv.

"Grind these." She handed the herbs to Tyler. "Elena, light these candles and place them at Stefan's head, feet and sides."

"Matt, light the incense and wave it over Stefan." Matt frowned at his job but did it anyway. Damon wrinkled his nose at the smell.

"What is that?"

"It'll induce sleep. We need him as relaxed as possible so that he doesn't fight the spell."

Damon didn't like the sound of that. "How bad is this going to get?"

Luke stopped preparing and turned to him. "I can put him under with enough to take out an elephant and he will still feel it. Does that answer your question?"

"Great." Damon growled, "More torture. Like he hasn't had enough of that."

Elena knelt next to him. One arm wrapped around her boyfriend while the other hand combed through Stefan's hair. "He's strong, Damon. Don't worry."

Damon didn't understand why that comment irked him, as much as it did. Maybe it was because that is how Caroline described him. _We all needed you to be strong._ "You know, maybe you shouldn't expect so much of him. It's hard to live up to all the expectations. It's exhausting for him."

Elena stopped and turned to him. "Damon, that's not…"

"I know what you meant, Elena. You were just trying to reassure me." Damon sighed, leaning his forehead against Elena's. "I'm worried he's…"

"Giving up." Alaric finished for him. "You're worried he's not going to survive this because he doesn't have the will to."

"You told us that back at his house. You said something was eating at him." Damon closed his eyes. "He's tired of always having to do right by everyone else. He's sick of everybody expecting him to do the right thing. None of you expect it of me or Enzo because that's who we are, but Stefan's not allowed."

"Damon, we don't expect Stefan to be perfect."

"Then why did you all expect him to keep looking for me? What were all of you doing when he confronted the Gemini Coven? You continued with your lives at college. You continued your work. You were all allowed to still have a life but not Stefan. He had to keep looking for me. Isn't that right?"

"Damon…"

"You should all go. Ashley and Mary-Kate are going to need space to do this. Right?" Damon called out to the twins.

Liv turned to them and nodded. "We need to concentrate. All of you standing around will only distract us."

"Go. Stefan only needs me."

Elena was about to protest but Alaric shook his head at her. "He's right. We should go." He walked over to the door and held it open, gesturing for everyone to leave.

Elena sighed when Damon wouldn't even look at her. "I'll be outside." She got up and left.

Damon unconsciously fingered Stefan's hair as he thought about the events of the day, remembering things he didn't notice at the time. Stefan's slight hesitation at the bar. The disappointment in himself for not being able to help Bonnie. When he said he didn't need them, he was silently saying, he only needed his brother. Damon smiled. He was wrong. Stefan wasn't going to give up. Not when his brother was still around. Elena once told him that if Stefan was ever going to return to them, it would be because of his love for his brother, not his love for Elena. She was right. Stefan would do anything for him…including staying alive.

"We're ready." Liv drew him from his thoughts. Damon nodded. He was about to stand.

"Actually, you should stay with him. He's going to need something to tie him to this world. I'm pretty sure you're the strongest anchor he has."

"What do I need to do?"

Liv smiled. "You're already doing it." She sat down at Stefan's feet while her brother sat opposite her on the other end. They nodded to each other then closed their eyes and rubbed the herbs together in their hands.

"Losa sársauka. Lækna sár. Látum lausa Draco Sanguinem"

"Losa sársauka. Lækna sár. Látum lausa Draco Sanguinem"

"Losa sársauka. Lækna sár. Látum lausa Draco Sanguinem"

Damon kept a hand resting on Stefan's forehead, even when his brother started tossing. He frowned when he felt heat start rising under his hand. It wasn't a normal heat. It was burning. He guessed this was the start of the pain the twins were talking about.

"Losa sársauka. Lækna sár. Látum lausa Draco Sanguinem"

"Losa sársauka. Lækna sár. Látum lausa Draco Sanguinem"

As the pain got worse, Stefan fought harder. Damon looked at Liv and saw how hard she was trying to keep the spell going. He turned to Luke and saw the same. Stefan was fighting the spell. "Stefan. Listen to me." He picked up Stefan's hand and gripped it in both of his. "Focus on me. I know it hurts, but you have stop fighting it."

Losa sársauka. Lækna sár. Látum lausa Draco Sanguinem

Losa sársauka. Lækna sár. Látum lausa Draco Sanguinem

Losa sársauka. Lækna sár. Látum lausa Draco Sanguinem

"Stop fighting the spell."

Stefan's eyes flew open. "AAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!" He arched off the carpet. Damon pushed him back down and held him there.

"STEFAN!" Damon grunted as his brother fought him.

"Damon, I'm losing my hold. The pain is too much for him. You need to get him to focus on something else."

"I'm trying!"

"Try harder or Stefan is dead!"

Losa sársauka. Lækna sár. Látum lausa Draco Sanguinem

Losa sársauka. Lækna sár. Látum lausa Draco Sanguinem

Losa sársauka. Lækna sár. Látum lausa Draco Sanguinem

Losa sársauka. Lækna sár. Látum lausa Draco Sanguinem

Damon closed his eyes. He needed something, a memory. Something only they had. Something between him and Stefan. "Damon, where are you?" The panic in Stefan's voice stirred a memory. "DAMON!" Stefan's hand shot out and Damon caught it.

"Marco." Damon whispered. Stefan quieted slightly at the word. Damon smiled. "Marco." He said more firmly. Stefan frowned at the word. "Come on, Stefan. I know you remember this. Say it. Marco!"

"Polo." Came the response that was barely audible even for a vampire.

"Marco." Damon said again.

"Polo." This time it was clear.

Damon grinned and placed his hand, affectionately, on the top of his head, his thumb stroking his forehead. "That's right, Stefan. I will always find you. That was our thing. If you ever got lost you only had to call out…"

"Marco." Stefan whispered.

"Polo." Damon responded. "That's how we find each other."

Losa sársauka. Lækna sár. Látum lausa Draco Sanguinem

Losa sársauka. Lækna sár. Látum lausa Draco Sanguinem

Losa sársauka. Lækna sár. Látum lausa Draco Sanguinem

Stefan clenched his jaw as his blood started to boil. Damon knew the pain level just went up but he also knew Stefan wasn't fighting the spell anymore. He endured the pain. "Proud of you little brother."

"LOSA SÁRSAUKA. LÆKNA SÁR. LÁTUM LAUSA DRACO SANGUINEM!"

Damon watched as his brother body arched off the carpet before it went lax. Stefan wasn't moving anymore.

He wasn't moving at all.

He wasn't breathing!

Damon concentrated his hearing. No heartbeat. "Stefan!" He shook his brother. "Stefan!" He looked at Luke. "Do something!"

Luke shook his head, dumbfounded. "It worked. It should've worked!"

Liv covered her mouth, not believing what happened. Her brother was right. It should've work. They felt the poison dissipate. "I'm sorry."

Damon was shaking. "No. This isn't happening." He pulled his brother up by the arms, shaking him. "Wake up, Stefan! WAKE UP!" Stefan's head lolled around as he was shook. Damon cradled his brother's head in his hands. "Come back." Tears started falling. "Come back, Stefan!" He pulled his brother into his arm. "You can't leave me, Stefan. I need you too!" He started rocking as he begged his brother to return to him. "I need you."

The door flew open. Elena froze at the sight of Damon rocking his brother's lifeless body. "No." Alaric appeared behind her. He closed his eyes and pulled Elena into his arms. Comforting her and seeking comfort at the same time.

"Stefan?" It was Caroline. Alaric stepped aside with Elena to allow her in. Caroline took a step forward. "Stefan." Her legs couldn't carry her any further and she collapsed to her knees. Someone wrapped their arms around her. She didn't know who it was. She didn't care because it wasn't Stefan and right now, Stefan was all she wanted. "I don't hate you." She sobbed. "Wake up. I need to tell you that. I don't hate you!"

Damon refused to believe that his brother was gone. He couldn't believe it. "I can't live in a world without you, Stefan." He closed his eyes and took a breath before he spoke again, pulling back to look at his brother as he did. His vision was blurred from the tears but they cleared when he blinked them away. Stefan's head rolled back, exposing his neck. It was the colour of the skin that gave Damon his idea. He prayed that he was right…that Stefan wasn't all gone yet. "Here's your choice." Damon told him. He supported Stefan's head with a hand to the back of it. "Either you join me with the living or I join you in death." He lowered Stefan to the floor and before anyone could even blink, he splintered a dining chair and returned with a stake. Stefan may not pull through for himself but he will always come through for others, especially his brother.

"Damon, what are you doing?" Elena looked on in shock. "Damon."

"I'm sorry, Elena." Damon's hands were shaking. "But I need Stefan." He placed the stake in Stefan's hand and guided the tip to his chest. "So what's it going to be?" The room was silent. There was no answer from Stefan. "Death it is."

"Damon, no!" Elena screamed.

Suddenly Stefan's body convulsed followed by painful coughing. Damon dropped Stefan's hand, in relief. His gamble had paid off. "Stefan."

"Marco." Was the first word out of Stefan's mouth though the word came out in a cough.

Damon pulled his brother into his arms. "Polo."

Stefan opened his eyes. The first thing he saw was a stake in his hand. "Damon? Who am I trying to kill?"

Damon burst out laughing as he pulled back. "Me."

"Huh?"

"Don't worry about it." He took the stake off Stefan and threw it across the room. "No one's dying today."

"Why is it so hot?" Stefan complained.

"It'll take a while for your blood temperature to return to normal." Luke provided. "Cleansing your blood of the poison required us to raise your blood temperature to boiling temperature."

Stefan closed his eyes. He didn't understand what any of them were saying. "I'm tired."

"You can sleep in my room." Caroline offered. It was only then that he realised everyone was in the room. Not only that but they were teary, even Matt and Tyler.

"What's going on? What happened?" Stefan grunted as Damon pulled him to his feet. He came to another realisation. The pain in his abdomen was gone. He looked down and fingered the area. Nothing. "It's healed." Damon lowered him onto the couch. Stefan looked up at him. "You did it."

Damon shrugged, "Actually you should be thanking Luke Skywalker and Princess Leia over there."

Stefan looked over at them. "Thank you."

They smiled. "We only had to do what came naturally to us. Damon's the one that brought you back."

"Huh?" Stefan could barely process the information. "Back? From the dead?" He looked at the others in the room. "That's why you're all crying?"

"Don't sound so surprised, Stefan." Alaric spoke up. "We all care about you."

This was getting more and more confusing. "You know what? Let's take up Caroline's offer and get you into a bed." Damon could see that Stefan wasn't keeping up. Mostly due to exhaustion, but also because of the 180 degree change in everyone's attitude towards him.

"No, I want to go home."

"Come on, Stefan. Don't be such a pain and just sleep here for a couple of hours."

"Damon, please take me home." Stefan was begging now.

Damon conceded, "Fine. We'll take you home." He walked up to Elena to ask her to bring his car to the front of the apartment when…SLAP! The slap was so loud it echoed in the silent room. Nobody dared to move.

Alaric took charge when he saw the stand-off wasn't going to let up any time soon. He took out his own keys and tossed them at Tyler. "Go bring my car around." He turned to the twins. "Luke, Liv. Thank you. You guys should go back and rest." They nodded and cautiously squeezed past Elena and Damon, who were just staring at each other. "Caroline…" Alaric frowned, "Caroline, you stay here…in your apartment. Matt, help me with Stefan." Caroline wanted to object but Alaric shook his head. "Stefan is too confused right now. Give it a few days." Alaric gave her shoulder a squeeze before helping Stefan up. "Let's get you home."

Stefan let Matt and Alaric lead him out of the apartment. He eyed his ex-girlfriend and brother, confused. Nothing was making any sense to him at the moment. "I'll explain everything to you later." Alaric promised.

The room was clear, leaving just Damon and Elena in the middle of the bare room. The candles were still lit and the incense lingered. It would have been romantic if not for the tension between the couple. Damon figured he should start talking. He reached out to place his hand on her shoulder but Elena was having none of it. She took a step back, arms folded, lips thin, tears in her eyes. Damon sighed. "I'm sorry."

Elena shook her head. "No. Sorry is not acceptable. I get you back for a week and you try to kill yourself."

"I wasn't really going to do it."

"So what? You were hoping it would jolt Stefan back from the dead? What if he didn't come back?"

"But he did! And I knew he would because his skin hadn't changed colour yet. I knew I still had a chance."

"And if he didn't come back. Would you have killed yourself?" Damon looked away. He couldn't lie to her face. Elena shook her head. "Get out."

"Elena…"

"Go. I can't even look at you right now! I almost lost my mind when I lost you, Damon and you were going to do that to me again!" Elena was angry. "Get out!"

Damon knew there was nothing he could say to make this better. "I'll call you tomorrow." He stepped around her to leave.

"I won't answer." Damon paused for a second before continuing out the door.

Elena lost control then, crying as if she had truly lost Damon.

* * *

Matt and Tyler helped Alaric get Stefan into his house before they left. It was an eventful night and everyone was exhausted. Stefan was dead on his feet. He was sleeping comfortably in his bed after he got out of his bloody shirt. He was gone before his head even hit the pillow. Alaric grabbed a bottle of whiskey from Stefan's kitchen and pulled a chair from the dining table, then made himself comfortable next to Stefan's bed. He smiled at the sleeping man. Stefan probably hasn't had a good night's sleep since last year's drama. Granted, this sleep was probably not that comfortable considering the heat he must be feeling. A glean of sweat covered Stefan entire body. Alaric got up and went back to the kitchen, filling a bowl with ice water and grabbing a towel from the bathroom. He tended to the heat, hoping it would be enough to make Stefan comfortable. He smiled when Stefan sighed in relief.

"How is he?" Alaric jumped, annoyed at being surprised. "Good thing your job wasn't to protect, Stefan, 'cause you suck."

He rolled his eyes and turn to Damon. "And you're an ass. How's Elena?"

"Not talking to me." Damon told him as he walked around to the other side of the bed and made himself comfortable against the head board next to his brother. "You can go home. I'll watch him."

"You sure?"

Damon rolled his eyes, "Go to your girlfriend before she works out you're not worth the effort."

Alaric got up to leave when anger got the better of him. He spun back around. "You're an idiot!" His voice was louder than he intended, wincing a little when Stefan groaned in his sleep but didn't wake.

"Keep it down!" Damon growled, unnecessarily.

"You're an idiot." Alaric repeated in a whisper. "You tried to kill yourself."

"Pfff! It worked didn't it? And last I checked, I'm not dead."

"That's not the point!" Alaric grilled out. "You weren't here when Elena's grief over you drove her crazy. How can you do that to her?"

Damon looked down at Stefan. "I wasn't thinking about her." He said quietly. "I've lived for a century and a half with Stefan." He shrugged. "I may have hated him for most of it but…"

"You need him as much as he needs you." Alaric sighed. "It must've killed him to give up."

Damon placed a hand on Stefan's shoulder. "He feels guilty about it."

"Yeah, I kind of added to his load." Alaric apologised.

"Nah…Nobody can heap guilt on Stefan better than Stefan."

"You know, I may understand why you did it, and I'm glad it worked out, but you're still an idiot." Alaric told him, "And you're going to need a better line than 'I can't live without Stefan' for Elena." He left Damon to think about that.

Damon closed his eyes. "Hope you're proud of yourself, brother. I think Elena's jealous of you." He fell asleep. Emotionally and physically exhausted.

* * *

**Three days later…**

Damon was wearing a hole in the wooden floors of Stefan's room as he paced back and forth. He was on the phone with the twins. "What do you mean, you don't know? He hasn't woken up!" He looked over at Stefan who was oblivious to his brother's loud voice. "Yes, I managed to feed him." Alaric had brought over animal blood the next morning for Stefan. "I'm a vampire, I know animal blood dulls our healing but not this badly!" He walked over to his brother and placed a hand to his forehead. "He's still warm. What the hell did that spell do to him?" Damon crushed his phone and threw it across the room.

Stefan shot up from his bed at the crash of the phone. He looked around for the danger, huffing. Damon smiled. Finally! "If I knew breaking my phone would wake you up I would've done it days ago."

Stefan groaned and fell back on the bed when he determined there was no threat. "Days?" He asked, rubbing his eyes to rid the fog in his head.

"Three days to be exact."

"What the hell happened to me?" Stefan complained before getting up again. "And why is it so hot in here?"

"It's not hot. You're still filling the after effects of the spell."

It came back to him. The twins had to perform a spell to counteract the poison in him. He swung his legs over the side of the bed. "Why do I feel like my heads filled with cotton?" Damon laughed at that. Stefan looked at him, deadpanned, "Don't answer." He frowned at Damon's grin. He hadn't seen it in a long time. It's the same cheeky grin he had when they were still human and Damon teased him. A memory came floating back. One from when he was six. _Stefan was lost. He was playing 'hide and go seek' with his friends. He found a really good hiding place. Too good. It was dark now and nobody found him. He was scared. He never liked the dark. Little Stefan stayed in his hiding spot in a burrow he found. "Damon will find me." He told himself. He closed his eyes. "Marco." He whispered. "Marco." He hugged his legs to his chest. "Marco." He buried his face in his knees. "Marco."_

"_Polo!"_ _Stefan's head shot up at the word. He scrambled around and popped his head out of the burrow. Damon was kneeling in front of him, grinning. Stefan launched himself into his brother's arm, bowling him over. Damon laughed as he wrapped his arm around his little brother. "Told you I would always find you." _

_Stefan pushed himself up and sat on his brother's stomach. "It work!" Stefan's eyes were filled with wonder. "It worked. I did what you told me. I said Marco, Marco, Marco and you found me!" Damon grunted at the bouncing on his stomach. He pushed himself up and adjusted his little brother until he was sitting on his lap. _

"_I promised you, didn't I?" Damon may have looked confident when Stefan saw him but he almost went crazy when Stefan's friends came to the house to tell him they couldn't find his brother. He almost broke down in relief when he heard his little brother's voice. _

_Stefan threw his arms around his neck. "I love you, Damon."_

_Damon smiled, "I love you too, little brother." _

"Earth to Stefan!" Stefan jumped when a pillow was thrown at him. He grabbed the pillow and threw it back. Damon caught it, laughing. "So where'd you go, brother?"

Stefan frowned, smiling. "I was remembering something from when we were kids." He looked up at his brother. "Marco Polo?" He was confused at why that memory would surface now.

"I didn't think you would remember."

"Of course I remember. It was your promise to me when I was little."

"I mean, I didn't think you would remember it from the other night."

Stefan looked at him thoughtfully. "You…" He started remembering the day of the spell. He had woken up with a stake in his hand and everyone was crying. He also remembered… "Elena slapped you."

Damon rubbed his cheek, "Trust you to remember that."

"Why was I holding a stake? What happened that night?"

Alaric walked in then, "The idiot tried to kill himself."

"You what?" Stefan gave Damon a look that was between annoyance and confusion.

Damon glared at Alaric. "Thanks!"

Alaric shrugged, "He's going to figure it out. Might as well tell him." He proceeded to tell the story of how Stefan died and came back to life…again.

Stefan let out a breath after the story. He couldn't believe it. "Damon…"

Damon walked up to him. "I know. I feel…" One minute he was standing and the next he was on the floor with an aching jaw. "What the hell was that for?"

Stefan was smiling down at him. He held out his hand. Damon took it and let Stefan pull him up. "That was for trying to kill yourself." Then he hugged him and whispered, "This is for everything else." Damon smiled and hugged him back. Stefan pulled back, grinning. "So Elena won't talk to you, huh?"

"Don't look so sad." Damon gave him a shove, making him fall back onto the bed. It worried him how easily Stefan fell back, but he looked fine.

Stefan got back up and went over to his wardrobe. He needed a shower. "You can't blame her. You only just got back."

"I don't blame her."

"I'm going to have a shower. You two can think about what to do with Elena." Stefan gave him a smile that said 'she's your problem'.

Alaric laughed and gave Damon two hard pats on the shoulder before leaving the room. "I am not dealing your and Elena's problem. Plus, I totally understand why she's angry, so I'm not helping you." He turned to leave the room. "Lunch is ready if you want any."

"One's my brother, the other's my best friend and they're both useless!" Damon hissed before heading to the kitchen.

Stefan walked into the kitchen after his cold shower. It felt good at the time but as soon as he got out the temperature rose again. "Did the twins say how long this heat was going to last?" He was barely out of the shower for five minutes and he already wanted to go back in again.

"Nope." Damon gave him the same 'not my problem' smile, Stefan had given him.

"Thanks for the sympathy." Stefan said, deadpanned. He sat down, already exhausted. "What are we going to do about Bonnie?" Alaric set a sandwich and a glass of blood in front of him before sitting down between the brothers. "Thanks." Stefan drank the much needed blood.

"We'll figure something out." Alaric told them. "But we may have to include the others when we do. I'm pretty sure mine and your," he pointed at Damon, "names are added to their 'no entry' list."

"If we can figure it out, we'll tell them. Until then, Bonnie being alive over there, stays between the three of us only." Damon warned them both.

Stefan shrugged, "It's your call."

Damon narrowed his eyes at him. "You know, I'm not used to you always agreeing with me." Stefan shrugged again. "What's wrong with you? It's like you don't have an opinion about anything anymore."

Stefan rolled his eyes, "Can never satisfy you, can I?"

"Seriously, Stefan, what's up with you? You've been different since I got back." Damon knew what was wrong, but he wanted Stefan to admit it. For four months he's been judged and misunderstood by his circle of friends he considered family. Yes, he had chosen to isolate himself but that doesn't mean it didn't hurt when none them respected his decision or even tried to understand.

"Nothing's wrong with me." Stefan took a bite of the sandwich. "I'm fine."

Damon looked at Alaric and nudged his head towards Stefan. Alaric sighed, "Listen, Stefan. I'm sorry for the way I acted."

"Alaric, you've already apologised."

"No, I haven't. Not properly. I never should have judge you like that. We all assumed you would just go on a rampage until you got Damon back. We…"

Stefan stood up abruptly, pushing off the table. "I said I'm fine." He grabbed the glass and walked out the front door.

"Yeah," Damon sighed, "Right."

Alaric grimaced, "Sorry, Damon. We really screwed things up for him."

Damon downed his glass of whiskey, "Don't worry about it." He said as he went out to talk to his brother.

Stefan was sitting on a bench on the porch of his home. He wasn't sure what he was angry about and the heat wasn't helping his temper either. He didn't want to feel guilty about giving up on his brother, he didn't want to because he thought he did the right thing. He thought he was doing what Damon would've wanted but Damon was alive over there and that meant he really did abandon him. His brother had to get back on his own.

"What are you thinking about, Stef?" Damon shocked him out of his thoughts.

"Nothing." Stefan answered as Damon took a seat next to him.

"You know you don't owe me anything. You've saved my life plenty of times in the past."

"Who said anything about owing you?" Stefan pretended.

"Come on, Stefan. You have a hero complex. You always try to save everyone."

"Says the guys who drove himself and his girlfriend into a bar with a bomb to bring everyone back from the dead." Stefan raised his glass at him and emptied it.

Damon ignored him and continued, "You don't always have to be the strong one and if everyone else can't seem to deal with that then screw them."

Stefan smirked, "If you haven't noticed, that's what I've been doing?"

"No, you're ignoring them. You have to get angry at them!" Damon punched his fist for emphasis.

"Nope because getting angry at them means I care, and I don't." Stefan gave him a thin smile.

Damon scoffed, "Because you didn't just get angry at Ric in there."

Stefan clenched his jaw, "What do you want from me, Damon?"

"I want you to admit that your friends hurt you. That they disappointed you, because after always being there for them, they weren't there for you when you really needed them to be."

"I pushed them away, Damon. It wasn't the other way around."

"But you had your reasons and they shouldn't have pushed you. You have the right to be angry."

"I guess." Stefan said not very convincingly. He didn't want to talk about it so he changed the subject. He turned to his brother. "So what are you going to do about Elena?"

"Pff…what can I do?"

Stefan rolled his eyes at his brother's mopey expression "Do you want me to talk to her?" He wasn't ready to talk to her but if they stuck to just talking about Damon, it'll be fine.

"Please!" Damon begged. "She won't answer my calls or see me! How am I supposed to explain if I can't talk to her?!"

Stefan laughed and got up, pulling his brother with them. "Let's go before I change my mind."

* * *

**Whitmore College…**

Stefan knocked at the door of Elena's dorm room. "Go away, Damon!" He gave his brother an amused smile. Damon sneered at him.

"It's Stefan."

"Stefan!" Her smile faded when she saw her boyfriend, she was about to slam the door when Stefan's hand stopped it from closing. "Grrr…" She stormed back into her room and threw herself across her bed on her stomach, very much like a sulking teenager.

"Come on, Elena. We both just came back from the dead…" Damon's hand came out and caught the pen that flew at Stefan's face. Stefan raised his eyebrows at it. He must still be out of it if he couldn't catch that.

"Oh my god, I'm so sorry, Stefan. I thought you would stop it." Elena got up, appalled at almost blinding Stefan.

"He only just woke up." Damon told her. "Not quite 100% yet."

"And you let him come over." Elena walked over to Stefan to take his hand but he stepped back, not quite ready for things to go back to what they were. He wasn't even sure it would.

Elena took her hand back, smiling awkwardly, "You should sit down."

Stefan gave her a small smile, "I'm fine. Just don't throw anything else at me."

"Well if you didn't bring your brother over I wouldn't have to." Elena returned to her bed. It was uncomfortable between her and Stefan and she hated that she was the cause of it.

Stefan winced at Damon who was leaning against the dressing table, fiddling with some jewelry. "Speaking of which. I know he's an idiot and I'm not that happy with him either but he is my brother and I wouldn't be a very good one if I let you break up with him because of me."

"It's not your fault. It's was his choice. He wanted to leave me alone…again!" Elena forgot about the awkwardness and let the anger come back.

"So what? That's it between you two?"

Damon looked at her, waiting for an answer. "Maybe." She said, unsure. Damon tried not to let his reaction show. Was he really about to lose Elena? He wasn't sure he could handle it.

"He did it for me, Elena."

"Yeah, and he didn't even think about me!"

"You jealous?" Stefan asked, curious.

"NO, but he didn't even think about what he was doing to me!" Elena was on the verge of losing control. "He was going to leave me alone."

Damon stood, wanting to comfort her, but Stefan shook his head. She needed to understand before she could forgive him. "Did you think about what you were doing to me when you made me save Matt over you?"

Elena's looked up in shock. "What?"

"You knew how much I loved you but you made me save Matt and leave you to die. Did you think about me when you did that?" Stefan asked again, a little bit angrier than he had intended. "I left my girlfriend to die because that's what she chose." Stefan shook his head, "I'm not sure I would've survived if you didn't have Damon's blood in your system."

Elena shook her head. "I just didn't want anyone else to die because of me."

"Because at times like that, you can't think about everyone else. You can't think straight. Damon thought I was dead. He wasn't thinking straight either. It was stupid, but are you really going to punish him for loving his brother?" Stefan knew he's gotten through to her. "Besides, I know you two. You can't stay away from each other. It's gross but it's true." Elena couldn't help but laugh at that.

Damon walked over cautiously and sat down next to her. "Promise me you'll never do that again." She pleaded with him

Damon smiled and framed her face in his hand. "I promise." Elena kissed him passionately. "mmmmm…" She missed this so badly.

"And that's my cue to leave." Stefan turned and walked out of the room.

Damon pulled back and winced. "I can't let him…"

"Go! Make sure he's gets home okay." Elena told him, then pulled at his hand. "How is he?"

"He's disappointed in his friends, but don't worry. He'll get over it." He kissed her. "Give him some time." He said before running after Stefan.

"Stefan!" Damon caught up with his brother. "I'll take you home."

"Damon, I'm not a kid. I can get home on my own." Stefan complained, "Go back to your girlfriend before she gets jealous again."

"She's fine!" Damon told him, "By the way. I'm going to crash at your place until we can find another place to stay."

"We? I like my place."

"After what happened with the Gemini witches, you are not staying there alone and it's too far from Elena. We are going house hunting tomorrow!"

Stefan groaned, "You're back for what…two weeks, and you're already making decisions for me?"

"Ah come on! You don't know how to have fun without me." Damon grinned at Stefan's groan.

They were about to get in Damon's car when someone called out their names. Stefan had his hand on the door and was very tempted to ignore the voice. He closed his eyes. He wasn't in the mood to talk to Caroline right now. Damon grimaced when he saw Stefan's expression. His brother really wasn't ready for this, physically or mentally. "Stefan." Caroline said again when she was closer.

"Caroline Forbes!" Damon said, a little too loudly. "What can we do for you?"

Caroline hesitated, "If you don't mind, I want to talk to Stefan." Stefan hadn't even looked at her. "Please." She was looking at Stefan the entire time.

"Actually, I do mind. Stefan's not feeling too great right now. I really need to get him back before he collapses." Caroline tilted her head to get a better look. Stefan sighed and grabbed her hand, placing it on his forehead.

"I've got a fever. I just want to go home." Stefan dropped her hand and got in the car.

Damon shrugged at her and got in the car. He drove off leaving Caroline on the curb, feeling like she had lost Stefan forever. Damon looked in the rearview mirror. Caroline was still standing there, looking at their retreating car. "That was a little harsh, even for me."

"I've done enough talking to our _friends_ for one day. I just want some peace and quiet. Is that too much to ask?" Stefan turned to him. "Why can't everyone leave me alone?"

"Oh, I don't know. Maybe because they care!" He said sarcastically. Damon looked over at his brother. "You can't stay angry at them forever."

"I'm not angry at them. I've just come to realise that I'm happier alone and the sooner everyone else understands that the happier we'll all be." Stefan closed his eyes and leaned his head back. Damon frowned and reached over to feel Stefan's forehead. Stefan didn't even react which was strange in itself. Suddenly the car screeched as Damon made a sudden U-turn. "What are you doing?" Stefan complained as he put his hands out to stop himself from getting flung around the car.

Damon didn't answer. He pulled out his phone. "Hansel! I'm bringing Stefan over. He's getting worse so you better have an answer for me when I get there!"

Stefan glared at him. "I'm not getting worse."

"Yes, you are. You're hotter than you were when you woke up."

"Big deal! It's probably because I've been up and about trying to solve my brother's girlfriend problem." Stefan said, annoyed, "Now, turn back around."

"Shut up! We're letting Hansel and Gretel take a look at you and then if they say it's all normal, we'll go home."

Stefan groaned, "I liked you so much better when you hated me. Strangely enough, whichever way, you're still trying to make my life miserable."

"Yeah, whatever!"

* * *

**Luke and Liv's dorm room…**

Liv was checking Stefan's temperature while Luke poured over their grimoire. "The effects weren't supposed to last this long." Liv mumbled "but it's not like he's in pain or anything."

Stefan got up from the couch. "See, I'm fine." He spoke too soon. A dizzy spell came over him causing him to sway a little. "Woah." Liv steadied him and lowered him back onto the couch.

"Okay, that's not normal." She frowned. "Lie down. I want to try something." Stefan groaned but did as he was asked. Liv placed a hand on his forehead and chanted. All sorts of emotions started coming off Stefan in waves. They were so strong Liv was thrown onto the floor.

Luke turned to them, shocked but was relieved to see his sister okay. Damon on the other hand stepped over her and went straight to his brother who was looking a little dazed. He gave his brother a hand up.

Liv stood, brushing herself off. "Luke, you can stop looking. There's nothing we can do about it."

"What?" Damon walked up to her threateningly.

"It's up to Stefan!" She took a step back from Damon's menacing form. "He's an emotional mess! It's interfering with his vampire healing."

Stefan looked up at her. "Me, feeling like crap is my fault."

Liv shrugged, "Kind of?"

Stefan shook his head and got up. "In that case, I'm getting out of here before I bump into any more people that could make me suicidal."

Damon put a hand on his shoulder and pushed him back down. "Not until Mario and Luigi here tell me exactly what they mean."

Luke sighed, "Look it's obvious everything that's happened since you died and came back has taken a toll on Stefan." He gestured to Stefan, "You just need to regulate your emotions and you'll start recovering."

Stefan shook his head. "I swear, that is one of the many things I hate about being a vampire! Our heightened emotions!" He stood again, shoving Damon's hands away before he could push him back down. "I've lived for over 150 years. I think my emotions are the least of my problems." He started towards the door.

"Not from what I just felt. That was a cocktail of negative emotions coming off you." She rattled them off, "Anger, frustration, relief, sadness, anguish, disappointment…guilt…shame?" She hesitated at the last one.

"Guilt and shame?" Damon turned to his brother, "What the hell do you have to feel guilty or ashamed about?"

"Nothing!" Stefan said a little too defensively. "Now can we go?"

Damon looked at the twins. They just shrugged apologetically. There really was nothing they could do. "Damn it." He cursed as he followed Stefan out the door.

* * *

They finally arrived back at Stefan's place, much to Stefan's relief. He couldn't take much more of Damon's scrutinising stares. He was already feeling more relaxed now that he's home. As much as Stefan didn't want to admit it, that trip out to the college took more out of him than he thought it would. He headed to his room. Damon followed closely behind him, bumping into him when Stefan suddenly stopped at the entrance of his room. He frowned and peered around Stefan to find Enzo on the bed. Damon could already feel the rage inside Stefan and the heat that was coming off him was raising the room's temperature. "Was beginning to wonder if you moved?" Before anyone could even say anything more Stefan rushed at him but Enzo was ready. He grabbed Stefan by the shirt and used his momentum to throw him out the window above the bed. It was a good thing there was no glass.

Stefan groaned as he was slammed against a tree outside but he didn't allow his body time to get over the pain. He pulled himself up and launched himself back at the window when Damon appeared in front of him and wrapped his arms around him, effectively stopping him. "Calm down!"

Stefan growled as he struggled against Damon's arms. Enzo was looking out the window, grinning at him. "Let me go, Damon!" Damon frowned at how little effort it was taking him to restrain his brother. Stefan was feeling himself weaken as well. His legs buckled under him.

Damon stopped him from falling and laid him gently in the dirt. "Stefan…" That was when he saw it. A branch sticking out of the side. "You're kidding me." He gripped it and yanked it out.

"Aaahh!" Stefan screamed at the shock and pain. "What the hell was that?" He grunted, still laying on his side.

Damon glared at Enzo, holding the bloody branch in his hand. He threw it away and tore open Stefan's shirt to get a better look. He could feel his own temperature rise when he saw that the wound wasn't healing the way it should. "Come on, brother." Damon lifted Stefan up then pulled an arm over his shoulder and hoisted him to his feet. When he got back into Stefan's room, Enzo was on Stefan's bed again, grinning. "Get off, you son of a bitch!" Damon's unusual anger gave Enzo a cause for concern. Enough to make him comply. He watched curiously at Damon's gentle and careful actions for his brother.

"You're awfully nice to the brother that gave up…" Enzo didn't get the rest of the sentence out as he went flying out the same window he sent Stefan through. Enzo got back up as if nothing happened and sped back into the room to the other side of Stefan's bed so that he could get in Damon's face. "That wasn't very nice." That was when he saw it. Damon had pulled up Stefan's shirt and was wiping away the blood still coming out of the wound. "Why hasn't that healed?"

Damon turned to him, glaring. "Witches!" He turned back to his brother when Stefan spoke.

"Get him out of my house." Stefan grunted out.

Damon placed a hand on Stefan's head. "Go to sleep." He ordered as he placed a suggestion into Stefan's mind. His brother slowly drifted off. He went back to wiping away the blood and sighed in relief as he noticed the wound was slowly closing.

"Why did that take so long?" Enzo asked again.

Damon rushed over and threw him out the window again. "This time stay out!" He had no patience for his friend right now. Enzo stood and brushed himself off.

"Fine. I'll stay out here. Now will you tell me what's going on?" Enzo actually sounded genuinely worried.

"A witch and her sons tortured him a few days ago. They gave him something that slowed his healing among other things." Damon clenched his fist at memory of what Stefan went through. "He's still feeling the after effects."

Enzo walked up to the window and leaned his arms on the frame. "Is he going to be okay?"

"Eventually but not while you're around. He needs times to relax and not worry about the rest of the world and he _definitely_," Damon growled at Enzo, "doesn't need the homicidal vampire that killed his girlfriend in his room trying to make his life miserable."

"If it makes you feel any better, I wouldn't have thrown him out the window if I had known about this." Enzo gestured to the bloody shirt on Stefan.

Damon sighed, "Just get out of here. He's got enough pent up crap without you making it worse."

"What do you mean?"

"Why the hell do you care?! Just go!" Damon winced when his loud voice almost woke his brother.

"I don't really. I'm just curious."

"He's messed up right now, okay?" Damon sat back on the bed, emotionally spent himself. "Look, I know you're doing all this because of me but I don't have to time to play peacekeeper between the two of you." Damon rubbed his eyes, tired. "He's a mess and he won't talk to me about it. He acts like he's fine but he's not. He's clearly NOT!"

"Hey, mate, calm down. You want to know what's going on in his head, then get inside it. Simple as that."

"What?"

"You're a vampire, mate. You can get in his head, especially when he's so weak." Enzo pushed himself off the frame. "Just a suggestion." He left Damon to think about that.

Damon sat on the edge of the bed and leaned over his brother. Enzo was right. If he wanted Stefan to recover then this was the best way. He gently rolled Stefan onto his back and placed a hand on his forehead. Damon closed his eyes and let his sub-conscious enter Stefan's mind. "Show me what's been haunting you, brother." Stefan jerked at the invasion. "It just me, Stefan. You know you can trust me." Stefan's movements started to calm and slowly a scene appeared around him.

_It was the moment just after the collapse. Stefan was with Caroline. "I've lost my brother and my best friend in one night." Damon wanted to comfort Stefan but he wasn't a part of this scene. He could only watch as Stefan cried in Caroline's arms. The scene changed but it was hard to follow as it sped through all the leads Stefan chased down. There were so many and Stefan's hope reduced as each lead reached a dead end. The film slowed down. Stefan was sitting at a table opposite a woman. Ingrid. "__Your brother is dead and you have no one to blame but yourself. The truth of it is our world is better off without Damon Salvatore."_

"_Not my world." Damon heard the soft growl before Stefan launched himself at the witch. It was quite impressive. "Let's see what happens when we send a witch to a side that no longer exists." He whispered dangerously in her ear before he expose her jugular to his fangs. Damon could feel Stefan's horror at what he was doing. He could feel the will power it took for his brother to pull back and feed her his blood before running out of there. _

_Damon was confused when he found himself in a dark cave. "Where the hell is this?" He turned when he heard a whimper from the back of the cave. He walked over and knelt in front of the cowering form. "I don't want to be a monster, Damon. I don't." Damon wanted to hug his brother but he still wasn't a part of this scene. There was nothing he could do but sit with Stefan. "I'm sorry, Damon. I can't do this anymore. I have to let you go." Damon could feel the guilt wash over his brother. This is when the guilt started. "Let me go, Stefan. It's okay."_

_The next scene was Stefan in his house. His phone was ringing. Stefan hung up. It rang again. Stefan hung up. Again. Again. Again. Even Damon was getting frustrated. Finally, it rang for the last time. Stefan broke the phone. _

_Dinner with Enzo, Caroline and Ivy. Damon wanted to strangle Enzo when he stabbed Stefan with a fork. The emotions radiating off Stefan was almost too overpowering for Damon to bear but one would never guess by just looking at him right now. His face was calm and uncaring. Damon followed Stefan to the room where Caroline was talking on the phone. Damon braced himself for the emotional backlash from Stefan overhearing telling Alaric that Elena fell for Damon when she was still with Stefan, but nothing happened. Damon took a good look at his brother. He was okay with it. His brother really has gotten over Elena. The scene ended with Enzo snapping Stefan's neck. _

_Finally they reached something familiar. Stefan at their family crypt talking to no one. "I'm lost, Damon." Stefan stood, "I'm lost!" He threw the bottle and Damon caught. Finally, a scene he could interact with. He let it play out as it had happened, smiling when his brother hugged him so tight that he thought his ribs would break. That was when he saw it. He had missed it on the day. A stake on the stone bench Stefan was sitting on. "What is that?"_

"_What?"_

"_What is that?!" He let his brother go and picked up the stake. He turned back to his brother and that's when he saw it. Shame. "You came here to kill yourself?"_

_Stefan looked at the stake. In all the emotions of seeing his brother again, he had forgotten it was there. "I..."_

"_This is what you've been feeling ashamed about. You didn't just give up on finding me…You gave up on yourself."_

_Stefan turned away from his brother, he didn't want to see the disappointment in his eyes. Damon put the stake down and walked over to his brother. So this is how bad it got. His brother was that far gone by the time he got back. "Stefan." Stefan wouldn't turn around. He put a hand on his brother's shoulder. "Stefan, look at me." Stefan took a shaky breath and turned around. He looked Damon straight in the eyes. "I'm sorry I didn't come back sooner."_

_Stefan's eyes widened in shock. "What?"_

"_I just watched the hell you went through. I'm sorry I couldn't come back sooner."_

"_I wanted to die." Stefan didn't understand why his brother was so calm about it. "You're not angry with me."_

_Damon smiled. "You weren't thinking straight. Apparently we've all experienced that at some point. I'm just glad I came back in time."_

_Stefan shook his head. "I'm not sure you did. I'm always angry." He told his brother. "I'm always angry and I can't control it. I'm so scared that I'll lose control one day and kill someone."_

"_I won't let that happen, Stefan. You're my little brother. We'll get through this together. If you don't want to see anyone for a while then we won't. We'll stay at your place until you're ready. We'll throw out your phone. I'll take all your calls. I'll deal with everyone until you are ready." Damon took him by the shoulders. "I'll take care of you." Stefan broke down then. He fell to the ground, sobbing uncontrollably, finally letting out the feelings he had kept in for so long. Damon dropped to his knees and hugged his little brother to his chest, protecting him from the rest of the world. _

Damon opened his eyes. He didn't realise he was crying. He wiped away his tears before placing his hand against Stefan's cheek, gently caressing it with his thumb. "You're going to be okay, Stefan."

"Damon?" Stefan called out in his sleep. "Where'd you go?"

"I'm right here."

Stefan jerked in a panic. "Damon!"

"Sssh, sh, sh…I'm here." Damon spoke in a gentle, soothing voice, much like he did when they were young. "I'm not leaving you." Slowly, Stefan started to calm down until he was sleeping peacefully. "That's it. Just sleep and we'll talk when you wake up." Damon cringed when his phone rang in his pocket. He pulled it out and answered it quickly, but didn't say anything until he was sure Stefan was still sleeping soundly. Once he was positive, he walked to the far side of the room.

"Hello." He whispered.

"Damon, what's going on with Stefan?" Elena asked as she walked to her car with Caroline. "I just spoke with Luke. He said Stefan's not getting better."

Damon sighed, stupid big mouth warlock. "He's asleep right now."

"We're coming over." Elena's voice broke no arguments.

"No you're…" Damon paused, "wait…we?"

"Yes, Caroline's with me."

"No…" Damon was about to crush another phone when Elena hung up on him. "Women! Why can't they just listen?!" He dialled Alaric. "Ric, I need you to stop Elena and Caroline from heading over here."

"_And how am I supposed to do that?"_

"I don't care. Just stop them!" Damon hung up the phone then walked back to the bed. He almost jumped out of his socks when an annoying voice with a British accent came from the window.

"Can I help?"

"Enzo." Damon hissed. "I told you to get out of here!"

Enzo shrugged. "I was curious at what this guy was hiding." He nodded to Stefan on the bed.

"He wasn't hiding anything."

"Yeah, I heard you talking when you were in his mind." Enzo was shocked when he found himself pinned against a tree with Damon's hand wrapped around his neck.

"That was private!" Damon growled dangerously. "If you haven't noticed, Stefan tends to keep everything to himself and he definitely doesn't reveal anything to psychos like you!" Enzo couldn't talk through his crushed windpipe. He pushed and pulled against Damon's hand but his friend was fuelled by his rage. He felt himself passing out when he found that he could breathe again. Enzo dropped to the ground, spluttering. "Get out of here before Stefan wakes up." Damon turned to return to his brother's side when Enzo found his voice again.

"I can help with stopping Caroline and your girlfriend."

Damon laughed but there was no mirth. "You and Caroline caused this! If you had just left him alone, it never would've gotten so far. He wouldn't have tried to kill himself!"

"We didn't know."

Damon shook his head, "I don't even know why I'm talking to you. You don't care about what happens to Stefan. Even if you knew all the crap he went through, you would've done the same thing."

Enzo shrugged, "Maybe you're right, but I want to help now." Damon glared at him. "You can stand around hating me all day but that won't stop Caroline from getting here and you know the effect that girl has on Stefan."

Damon knew he was right and Alaric wouldn't be able to stop the girls. "Fine, go, but if those girls turn up here, I'm taking it out on you!"

Enzo grinned. "Don't worry. Caroline likes me."

"Pfff…she likes my brother more!"

"Don't remind me." Enzo groaned as he headed to his car.

Enzo called Alaric. "Ric, buddy, which road are the girls taking to Stefan's?"

"How did you know…" Alaric rolled his eyes, "Doesn't matter. They're taking Wilsons Road. I'm on their tail."

Enzo smiled and parked his car across said road. "See you soon." He got out of his car and leaned against it, arms folded, waiting patiently.

* * *

Caroline fiddled with the hem of her shirt. She couldn't stop thinking about Stefan and everything he's been put through. Elena glanced over at her best friend, reaching over to take her hand in her own. "Stefan will be fine." She looked up at her rear-view mirror. "Alaric is still following us."

Caroline turned around to look through the back window, annoyed. "Why is Damon stopping us from seeing Stefan?"

"I don't know. Maybe because Stefan doesn't want to see us."

"But he's sick and he needs his friends, even if he doesn't know it."

"That's why we're…" Elena squinted at the road ahead. "Who is that?" She slowed the car to a stop. "Enzo?"

Caroline frowned, then got out of the car, annoyed. "Get your car out of the way! I am not in the mood for you!"

"No can do, Beautiful."

"Get out of my way before I throw you out!" Caroline threatened.

"Darling, I'm stronger than you."

"You're not stronger than both of us!" Elena warned.

Alaric ran up to them. "Elena! Caroline! You can't go see Stefan."

"Why the hell not?" Caroline was exasperated.

"Didn't the twins tell you why Stefan's not recovering properly?" Alaric asked, "He's an emotional mess."

"And that has a lot to do with his friends." Enzo added.

Caroline narrowed her eyes at him, "What would you know and why do you care?"

"I overheard some stuff and well…" Enzo was confused at why he cared himself, "I don't really care about Stefan but this is kind of my fault and I'm not really at liberty to reveal anything else."

"Then get out of our way so we can find out ourselves." Caroline ordered.

Alaric didn't want to do this, but the girls were too stubborn to listen to reason. "Stefan's a mess because of us!" The girls turned to him in shock. "We pushed him to his limit and you two are still doing it! Stefan doesn't want to see us. More specifically, he doesn't want to see you two!"

"We…"

"Only want to help." Enzo rolled his eyes. "Well, I hate to tell you this, but you can't. He needs time to himself and that is what Damon is trying to give him. Right now, the only constant person in his life is his brother."

"Enzo's right. I've seen him when he's around Damon and I've seen him when he's around us. We're not good for him right now. Give him space and as soon as he's completely recovered, you can talk to him." Alaric knew they've finally got through to the girls.

"I expect updates." Elena compromised. Alaric nodded.

"And why are you allowed to see him?" Caroline was angry and frustrated.

"I'm not." Enzo told them. "I'm just helping Damon out. He can't leave Stefan so here I am."

Caroline's expression softened. "If we didn't turn up at his house, Stefan would be fine, wouldn't he?"

Enzo screwed up his face as he thought about that one, he rocked his hand side to side, "We're not the only reason, but we might have been the last straw."

Caroline took a breath then returned to the car. She needed to cry but not in front of Enzo. Elena gave Enzo one last glare before leaving them as well. Alaric stepped up to Enzo casually as he waited for Elena to turn around and drive away. As soon as their car was out of sight, Alaric punched Enzo across the face. "OW! What was that for?"

"Damon told me what you did to Stefan! What were you thinking turning up at his place?" Then he gestured in the direction the girls had left in. "And telling Caroline that she was what drove Stefan over the edge! I thought you liked her!"

"I do, but she asked. What was I supposed to say?"

"Anything but that!"

"Yeah, whatever. I got the job done, didn't I? Now, I'm heading back."

"No way in hell are you going near Stefan again." Alaric told him. "You go back to the college and make sure the girls don't have another attempt. I'll go to Stefan's."

"Why are you so protective of him all of a sudden?"

Alaric walked back to the car, "Because I had a hand in pushing him over the edge and now Damon's trying to pull him back. I want to help." He opened the car door. "Get your car out of the way and if I see you anywhere near Stefan, I won't hesitate to shoot you."

* * *

Damon kept his ears out for any cars heading up the dirt road to Stefan's house. His phone buzzed. It was a message. _It's done. Girls are heading back. Ric is on his way over. _It was from Enzo. Damon frowned at the idea of Alaric heading over but Stefan doesn't seem to have a problem with him as much as he did with the girls. Damon threw his phone on the dining table and poured himself another glass. That was one potential disaster averted. Now as long as they could keep the girls away, Stefan may just have a chance to recover. He concentrated his hearing on Stefan's room. His breathing was even and his pulse was steady. "Let's hope this lasts." He whispered to himself as he downed another glass of bourbon. He was hoping the little therapy he provided in Stefan's mind was enough to start him on the road to recovery. A car pulled up in front of the house. "That was quick. Girls must've got pretty close to getting here." He groaned as he got up to greet Alaric outside. He didn't want any chance of Stefan waking up. "Hey."

"Hey, how is he?"

"Sleeping." Damon told him as he sat down on the bench he and Stefan had sat on earlier in the day. He handed Alaric the bottle of bourbon and invited him to sit down.

Alaric took a swig of the bottle. He knew he would be needing it after this conversation. "How bad did he get?"

Damon rolled his eyes. "Don't do this to yourself, Ric. Stefan pushed everyone away the way he always does."

"I know, but we kept pushing back. How far did we push?"

Damon sighed, "Far enough."

"He tried to kill himself, didn't he?"

Damon narrowed his eyes at his best friend, "How did you…"

"It's not hard to guess. Enzo wouldn't care if it wasn't something as drastic as suicide."

"It was the night I came back." Damon shook his head, "If I had come back a minute later…"

"You didn't, so don't even think about that. He needs you here." Alaric patted him on the shoulder. "You're the only one that can help him."

"What makes you say that?"

Alaric chuckled. "You said this morning that Stefan was being too agreeable."

"He is! It's weird."

"I thought so at the time as well, but now I know why." Alaric turned to him. "He's scared of losing you again, so he'll do whatever you want him to do as long as it keeps you alive and around. He agreed to going to Portland so that you didn't have to. He helped you with Elena because he knows if you lose Elena, you'll probably leave for good. Everything he's doing is to keep you here."

"You're making him sound a little clingy."

Alaric laughed, "Not clingy but maybe a little scared."

"Pfff…" But even as he scoffed, he knew Alaric was right. It was time to reassure Stefan that his brother wasn't going anywhere. He looked at Alaric. "You know you didn't have to come here. I can handle Stefan on my own."

"I know that! Stefan's better off with you right now, but someone needed to keep an eye out here _and _on the girls and I definitely do not trust Enzo to be here after the crap he pulled with Stefan's girlfriend."

"So Enzo is watching the girls." Damon wasn't sure he liked that idea.

"He fancies Caroline and he's not going to hurt Elena because of you, but he's also heartless enough to say what's needed to keep the girls from driving over here."

Damon nodded. He couldn't fault that logic. He tuned into Stefan's room again to check on his brother, frowning when he heard the erratic pulse. "Stefan's restless. I'm going to check on him." Alaric nodded.

* * *

Stefan was tossing on the bed when Damon got in there. It looked like he was in the thralls of a nightmare. Damon lowered himself onto the bed. "Hey, wherever you are brother, I'm right here. You're not alone." That was all it took for Stefan to calm down. Damon smiled in relief that he didn't have to invade Stefan's mind again. He quickly checked Stefan's temperature before pulling the covers over his brother and turning out the lights. He knew he wouldn't be sleeping much tonight. Not with Stefan in the state he's in. He went back outside to talk to Alaric. "He's resting for now, but I'm going to stay with him for the night, just to make sure he sleeps through."

"You're not going to sleep?" Alaric asked worried.

"I'll rest next to him. Keep the nightmares away." Damon sighed, "Hopefully after a good night's rest and a talk tomorrow, we'll get the old Stefan back."

Alaric nodded, "We will." He assured his friend. "I'll be on the couch."

"Thanks." Alaric just smiled and gestured for him to return to Stefan's side.

* * *

**The next day…**

The sun's afternoon rays streamed through the window above the bed. Stefan's brow furrowed at the intrusive light making him turn to get away from it. He didn't want to wake up yet. It has been so long since he's had such a good night's sleep. He wasn't happy that it had been disturbed by the morning. Stefan sighed when he came to the conclusion that he wasn't going to be able to get back to sleep so he opened his eyes. "Hello, Honey." Stefan shot up in his bed, looking around cautiously. Damon propped his head up on his elbows. "Have a good sleep?" He asked cheerfully.

Stefan slowly leaned back from his brother. "Why are you on my bed?"

Damon closed one eye as he thought about how to answer that question. "Well, little brother." He gave Stefan a cheeky smile. "You couldn't sleep without me. Just like when you were a kid."

"I grew out of that a long time ago!" Damon shrugged, as if that fact wasn't relevant. "And I slept fine!" Stefan frowned, "Best sleep I've had in a long time."

Damon grinned, "Exactly and that's because of me!"

Stefan rolled his eyes and got off the bed, feeling a little uncomfortable with being on the bed with his brother looking so comfortable. "Whatever you say, Damon. How long was I asleep?"

Damon looked at his watch. "Over 12 hours now." Damon stretched and rolled onto his back before pushing himself up against the head board. "You've been having nightmares." Stefan frowned and turned to him. It wasn't a statement. "You had a few last night but it seemed to go away when I held your hand so I stayed." Damon tried not to laugh at Stefan's expression but he couldn't help it. His brother managed to look horrified, embarrassed and angry at the same time. "Kidding! Kind of…" Stefan looked at him a little worried. He remembered a part of a dream but not much of it. It seemed very real at the time. Damon studied his expression, curious. "What's wrong?"

Stefan shook his head, though he still looked worried, "Nothing." He removed his shirt and went over to his wardrobe to get the new one. Damon didn't say anything. He just waited until Stefan spoke, knowing that his curiosity would get the better of him. "You were in my dreams." Stefan stated.

"I was." Damon confirmed.

"That's an invasion of privacy." Stefan told him, though he didn't sound angry.

"You should've told me everything."

Stefan pulled on a clean shirt and turned to his brother. "Nothing to tell. You came back. Everything that's happened doesn't matter."

Damon got off the bed and strode over to him, placing both hands on shoulders. "It matters to me! You tried to kill yourself! That's a big deal."

Stefan tried to shrug off his hands but Damon held firm. "Yeah, I know. I gave up on you! That's a big deal."

"You didn't have a choice. I'm glad you gave up because if you didn't I would've come back to the Ripper and that would've killed you _and me_ in more ways than one." Stefan bowed his head, too ashamed to look at his brother. "I meant what I told you in the dream." He smiled when his brother looked back up at him. "We'll get through this together. Enzo's keeping the girls away and Alaric will keep them updated so they don't come rushing over here. You can have all the peace and quiet you need to deal with this."

"What if it's not them?"

Damon grinned at him and gave his arm a slap. "That's what I'm here for! You dare to feel guilty or ashamed again and I'll knock it right out of you!"

Stefan chuckled, "Thanks."

Damon nudged his head towards the door. "Let's get some food."

Stefan followed him to the kitchen where there was already breakfast and blood on the table. "You know I can't afford you as my butler, right?"

Alaric laughed and shrugged, "You can find some other way to pay me back like keeping the girls from killing me after all this is over."

Stefan gave them a small, sad smile. "Hey, guys. Do me a favour?" He asked as he sat at the table.

"Anything." Alaric stopped what he was doing, sensing the seriousness of the request.

"Don't tell the girls about this?" He didn't want anyone else to know how messed up he was and still is.

Alaric winced, "That might be too late."

"You told them?" Damon looked at him as if he were an idiot.

"No! Enzo did."

Stefan turned to Damon, beyond angry, "You told Enzo!"

"NO!" Damon grimaced, "He overheard us when I went into your..." He waved his fingers around his head.

Stefan had to take a couple of deep breaths to temper his rage. "Next time I am going to kill him and I'm not going to feel bad about it. He's dead and I don't care what you owe him!"

"Ehh…Go ahead." Damon told him. Stefan ran his fingers through his hair, pulling at it in frustration. "Hey. Relax! You're supposed to be regulating your emotions not trying to explode."

Stefan started nodding thoughtfully, "You're right. I need to let out these emotions." He picked up his glass and downed the contents. Alaric and Damon swapped looks, not sure if they liked whatever was going through Stefan's head. "I'm going to run off my frustrations." He stood and rushed out the door before anyone could stop him.

"Stefan!" Damon glared after him. "Damn it! It's like looking after a five year old Stefan again!"

"I'm pretty sure this is worse."

Damon shook his head, "You haven't met a determined Stefan when he was five. I had no defence against him!"

"How bad could it have been? He was five!"

"I know! But he was so damn cute!" Damon complained. Alaric burst out laughing. He was picturing a young Damon being manipulated by his little brother's puppy dog face.

"I wish I was there to see it."

"You would have no chance against him." Damon groaned as he stood. "I better catch him. In his condition he's liable to get himself killed!"

Alaric didn't think Damon would be able to catch Stefan but there was no use trying to convince him to stay put. Damon never showed it but he was very protective of his brother and these days his protective mode has been pushed up a notch.

* * *

Stefan ran as fast as he could through the trees. There was a lake on the other side of the woods he wanted to get to. It was peaceful there and hard to get to for normal hikers which was always perfect for Stefan. He found himself there a lot when Damon wasn't around. It was a breath of wonder when the trees opened up to reveal the lake, almost untouched by humans. It was small, but it was beautiful. When Damon was on the other side, this was the place he could cry without anyone seeing him. He could lose control and not be in the vicinity of a human. Today was different. He wasn't mourning. He was angry! He hated feeling like this. He didn't even know why he was angry. He's never let people get to him like this. There was no control over his emotions. "AAAAHHHHHHH!" He screamed out to the lake. "AAAAAAAHHHHHHH!" Stefan huffed as he screamed out his frustrations, but when that didn't work he ran into the water. The water was freezing. It was perfect. He walked as far as he could before dunking himself under, holding his breath for as long as he could, which for a vampire is quite long. Just as he was about to re-surface someone grabbed him by the arm and dragged him up. "Who…" He spluttered as he was dragged back to shore, losing his footing along the way, but whoever had him didn't let go until he was out of the water. He dropped to his knees, trying to catch his breath.

"For someone that's drowned over and over again for a whole summer, you'd think you would find another way of trying to kill yourself." Damon dropped to the rocky shore, next to his brother. "What the hell were you thinking?"

Stefan turned to his brother next to him. "How'd you find me?"

"You screamed loud enough for Elena and Caroline to hear you from their dorm room!"

"I wasn't trying to kill myself." Stefan coughed, "And if you didn't grab me like that I wouldn't have swallowed water."

"What did you expect me to do? And what were you doing?"

Stefan shrugged. "I don't know but for the time under the water I could block out everything. It was calming."

"Yeah well, it wasn't calming for me!"

Stefan looked at him, smiling. "Would you feel better if I told you it helped?"

Damon narrowed his eyes at him. "Did it?"

Stefan shook his head, "Not really but seeing your expression did."

"Huh?"

"You're worried about me. I really need to get out of this rut if you're that worried about me." Stefan grinned at him.

"That's it? All you had to do was drown yourself to get over this?"

Stefan laid back on the rocks. "I'm not sure, but for now I'm not angry. For all I know Enzo or Elena or Caroline or anyone else could set me off again."

"I can drown you if you want." Damon laid beside his brother.

Stefan laughed. "Next time. I'll even invite you."

They laid their comfortably in silence for hours before they decided to head back before Alaric started panicking. "You know I've killed two phones since you've been back." He said as he pulled out the drowned phone.

Stefan pulled out his. "I'm pretty sure I've destroyed more than you."

* * *

They arrived back to find Alaric on the phone with someone. The relief on his face made the brothers laugh. They were right. Alaric did start to panic. "Forget it. They're back." He looked at them, sternly. "Where have you been? I was calling…" Stefan and Damon both held up their water-logged phone. "Did you go for a swim?"

"Kind of?" Stefan answered.

"Kind of…" Damon agreed.

Alaric rolled his eyes at them. "Get out of those clothes before you…" He realised he was sounding like a father and these two were vampires so the cold didn't affect them. "Just get changed."

"Yes, dad." The brothers droned together.

Damon was about to follow Stefan to his room when Alaric grabbed him. "He seems better."

Damon shrugged, "He _washed _away the anger…for now."

"Good because Enzo said he's done babysitting the girls so I don't know how long it'll be before they end up here."

"Seriously? It's been what? Not even 24 hours." Damon shook his head. "You head back there. I can handle Stefan. Tell the Elena to give Stefan one more day. He'll be okay soon."

"I hope so, for everyone's…" Alaric frowned when his phone rang. "Speak of the devil…Enzo." He answered. "What do you want?"

Damon tuned his hearing to the phone. _"I need your help. The hunters grabbed Caroline."_

Damon stormed up and grabbed the phone off Alaric. "Where are you? Is Elena with you?"

"_Damon…"_

"Cut the crap, Enzo! Where are you?"

"_At the abandoned cabin, east of the place they held me."_

"Keep an eye on them. I'll be there soon!"

"I'm going with you." Alaric grabbed his keys.

"No, stay here." Damon gestured for him to stay put. "Keep an eye on Stefan and don't tell him anything."

"Don't tell me what?" Stefan returned after getting changed.

Damon closed his eyes in frustration. "Why can't anything be easy around here?" He turned to Stefan. "Just trust me and stay here."

"You really think I can't compel Alaric to tell me?"

"Damn it, Stefan! Just trust me!"

"I do! But if you're heading into trouble then I'm coming with you!"

"I don't have time to explain." Damon growled.

"Then explain on the way!" Stefan pushed past him, walking straight to the car.

Damon glared at his back as he followed him out to the car. Alaric went to his own SUV.

* * *

Damon could see Stefan's hands start to tremble after he told him what he knew. He constantly glanced over at his brother as he drove. "Told you not to come."

"I'm fine." Stefan folded his hands under his arms to stop the trembling.

"This can't be good for you."

"Just shut up and drive!" Stefan looked over at the speedometer. "You chose a great day to drive like our grandmother."

"Our grandmother lived in a time where there were no cars."

"Exactly my point!" Stefan snapped at him.

"When we get there you better stay back."

"Like hell…"

"You're in no condition, mentally or physically, to deal with the hunters!"

Stefan turned to him, his rage rising. "Stop worrying about me and start thinking about how we're going get Caroline out of there!"

"Fine! You never grew out of that stubborn stage!" Damon mumbled to himself.

* * *

Enzo waved them down when they neared the cabin Enzo had given them. Stefan got out of the car and walked past him as if he didn't exist. Enzo raised his eyebrows at Damon. "What? Did you expect a hug?"

Elena stepped out from behind a bush. "Damon!" She ran up to him and threw her arms around his neck.

Damon hugged her briefly before pulling her arms off him. "We'll get Caroline. You stay here." He was about to follow Stefan when the cabin exploded. The blast was strong enough to throw Stefan onto his back. Damon grabbed Elena and covered her as the cabin went up in flames. Alaric got over his shock and ran over to Stefan, helping him to sit up.

"You okay?"

"Caroline." Stefan clumsily got to his feet, dazed from the explosion. "CAROLINE!" He shoved Alaric off him and sped towards the flames.

"Stefan!" Alaric called as two figure sped past him after Stefan.

Damon and Enzo caught Stefan just as he reached the flames. "Stefan!" Stefan fought the hands that held him back. Caroline was in there. He needed to get to her. She was his best friend!

"CAROLINE!"

"She's gone, Stefan!"

Stefan threw off Enzo in a rage and grabbed his brother by the jacket. "She's not gone! SHE'S NOT GONE!"

"I'm sorry, brother." Damon's heart broke at the anguish he saw on his brother's face. "I'm sorry."

"She can't be gone. I've already lost Lexi, I can't lose Caroline as well." The last of the cabin's frame collapse in a loud crash as if to squash any hope that Caroline was still alive. Stefan let his grip on Damon slip as he dropped to his knees. "Caroline…CAROLINE!" Stefan screamed at the fire. Damon knelt next to his brother, pulling him into his arms. He couldn't believe they had just lost Caroline. It didn't feel real.

"Stefan?" Stefan's head shot up. "What happened here?" Slowly, Stefan stood shakily with his brother's help. They both turned, unsure if they were hearing things. As they turned, there she stood. "Why are you all out here?" Stefan stumbled over to her. Damon hung back, knowing his brother need a little space. He watched as his brother reached out and tentatively touched her cheek, ensuring that she was real. Caroline closed her eyes, savouring the touch of his hand on her skin. She lifted her hands to his and leaned into it. She was shocked when she was pulled into a ferocious hug. She giggled a little nervously. "What's going on?"

"I thought you were in there. How did you get out?" Stefan asked, breathlessly.

Damon narrowed his eyes when he saw Caroline's confused expression. She had no idea what was going on here. He looked over at Elena and Alaric who shook their heads. He looked past them and saw Caroline's car. She had only just arrived. He turned to Enzo, who was standing there looking at Caroline and Stefan with a smug smile on his face. "You son of a bitch!" Damon stormed up to him and grabbed him by the shirt! "You set this up!"

"Calm down, mate! I was only helping your brother out!" Enzo gestured to Stefan. "It's obvious he cares about her!"

"You stupid idiot!" Damon shoved him away and walked over to his brother. He pulled Stefan off Caroline and held his head between his hands. "How are you feeling?"

Stefan looked at him, confused. "What?" Damon could feel the heat on his hands. "I'm okay." But even as he said it Stefan knew something was wrong. He didn't even realise that Damon had grabbed him by the upper arms to stop him from sway. "I don't feel too good." Stefan amended his answer to Damon's questions. His vision darkened as he collapsed in his brother's arms. Damon grunted as he adjust his brother's dead weight in his arms.

"A little help." He grunted. Caroline shook herself from her stupor and pulled Stefan's arm over her shoulder.

"What's going on?" She asked as they carried Stefan to the cars.

"Go ask Enzo!"

Alaric walked up to them and took Caroline's place. "I take it this is not doing anything for his recovery."

"You think!" Damon was so angry right now he was ready to kill someone. "I'm starting to regret not letting that hunter kill Enzo."

Alaric laid Stefan in the back of his car and looked back at Enzo and Caroline. He grinned when Caroline slapped Enzo across the face. "I think Caroline has him covered."

Elena came up to them. She looked into the car at the unconscious form. "How is he?"

"I don't know." Damon answered her. "But I'm pretty sure he's going to be better than Enzo after Caroline gets through with him." He grinned as Enzo endured another slap.

"I'm so sorry. I didn't know he planned all this."

Damon hugged her. "I know. I don't know why I keep him alive." He pulled back. "Listen, I'm going to take Stefan back home. Bring Caroline over when she's done with Enzo."

Elena frowned, "I thought we weren't good for him."

"You weren't but after that, it'll be worse if he wakes up and Caroline's not there. His emotions just went from zero to one hundred and then back to zero again in the space of two minutes." Damon shook his head, "I can't believe Enzo thought this would be a good idea."

"Go, I'll come over with Caroline soon."

* * *

**Stefan's place...**

_Stefan screamed out at the cabin as it burst into flames. "CAROLINE!" _Stefan jerked in his sleep, sweat dripping of him like he had just been out in the rain. Damon, Alaric, Elena and Caroline had been working at bringing Stefan's fever down for over an hour now. Even with the bags of ice Alaric had gone out to get, Stefan's fever wouldn't let up. The emotional rollercoaster Stefan had experienced, thanks to Enzo, sent Stefan's physiological state into a frenzy. His body couldn't regulate its temperature the way it should.

Caroline laid a cold compress against his forehead. "Come on, Stefan. I know you can beat this." She picked up his hand. "I'm sorry. I didn't know what Enzo was doing."

Stefan tossed his head, causing the towel to fall off. "Caroline." The name came out in a breath. "Caroline."

Caroline soaked the towel in the bowl of ice water and held it to Stefan's forehead. "I'm here, Stefan. I'm okay."

Damon sat in a chair on the other side of the bed. Alaric and Elena were in the lounge room, resting. There was no point in all of them sitting up all night. "You know, Stefan cares for you a lot."

"I know. I saw him." Caroline smiled at the vampire, unconscious in the bed.

"But you're like Lexi to him." Damon didn't want to burst her bubble, but he would know if Stefan had feelings for Caroline. "And believe me, Lexi's shoes are hard to fill."

"I wish I got to know."

"I'm not saying nothing will ever happen between you two, but right now, Stefan can't be comfortable around you if he knows you're still holding out for something more than what he can give. He doesn't want to string you along, so he'd rather stay away."

"I blamed him for ruining our friendship, but it was me. It was me. I changed things between us and now he's a mess." Caroline wiped away her tears. "I'd do anything for us to go back to what we were."

"Then tell him that when he wakes up. He doesn't even know how to act around you now. Let him know you're okay." Damon was almost begging now. "I need him to get better, Caroline and avoiding you and Elena, is clearly not working."

Caroline nodded, "I will." She continued tending to Stefan's fever. "Enzo said you got into Stefan's mind."

"Enzo doesn't know when to shut up." He so regretted saving the guy from the hunters.

"What did you see?"

Damon shook his head. "You're going to have to ask him. He was already mad when he found out Enzo told you about what he heard and I crossed the line when I invaded his mind. I'm not going to betray his trust by telling you what I saw."

Caroline frowned at him. "You used to read his diary out loud so you could make fun of him."

"I've changed." Damon said drily.

Caroline smiled, "You have. I haven't seen this side of you. It's nice."

"Yeah, well don't get used to it. As soon as he's back to his normal self, so will I."

Their attention were drawn towards the man in the bed when a soft call was heard. "Caroline?" They were pleasantly surprised when they saw that Stefan was awake.

"Hey." Caroline caressed his cheek, smiling. Damon got up and sat on the bed to get a closer look at his brother. "How are you feeling?"

"You're okay?"

"I'm fine. You're the one that's sick."

"You scared me."

"And you're scaring us." Damon spoke up. Stefan turned his head in the direction of the voice and saw his brother's annoyed expression. He tried to get up but something was weighing him down. He looked down at his body to find that ice bags were packed on and around him.

"What's going on?" He tried to push the bags off him.

Damon grabbed his hand to stop what Stefan was trying to do. "You're burning up."

"Oh…" Stefan dropped his head back onto the pillow. "Is that why I'm so tired?" He turned to Caroline. "What happened at the cabin?"

Caroline opened her mouth to answer him but Damon jumped in quickly. "That's a story for when you're better."

Stefan frowned at him. "Why?"

Damon rolled his eyes. "Will you just rest and let us take care of you?"

"You're bossy." Stefan closed his eyes and let sleep take him. Caroline giggled in relief and at Stefan's vocabulary.

"What are you giggling about?"

Caroline giggled even harder, "He's cute when he's like this."

"Not you too!"

"Huh?"

"He used to pull that face on me when we were kids. Aside from our father, nobody had any defence against him when he was little. The little brat had the entire household wrapped around his finger, including me!"

Caroline grinned. "You never talk about your life when you were human. It sounds like you two were very close."

Damon smiled as he adjusted the ice packs around Stefan. They were going to need new ones soon. The ice were melting fast. "His trust in me was unconditional. All I had to say was 'I promise' and any fears or worries that he had would go away…" Damon clicked his fingers, "Just like that." Caroline smiled. It's no wonder Stefan would do anything for his brother. "His faith always amazed me."

"I used to wonder why Stefan put up with all the crap you put him through." Caroline grinned at Damon's expression. "But now I know why? There is nothing you wouldn't do for him." She wiped Stefan's skin around his neck and cheek. "Tell me about Marco Polo."

Damon grinned, cheekily, "Well, he's an Italian explorer and has a water sport named after him."

Caroline tried to look sternly at him but failed miserably. "You know what I mean!" She laughed.

Damon smiled at the memory. "It's one of the many promises I made to my brother. A promise that I would always find him no matter what happened." They spent the night talking about the brothers' past and mischievous antics they got up to. By the time morning came they were both exhausted and fell asleep in their respective chairs.

* * *

Alaric walked in to check on them when he found Stefan trying to shove the bags of melted ice off him. Stefan looked up and put a finger to his lips. His brother and best friend were exhausted from taking care of him all night. They needed sleep. Alaric nodded and dragged the bags off the bed. The bed was soaked and so was Stefan's boxers. Alaric reached past Caroline to check Stefan's temperature. Stefan was surprisingly cool. The vampire quietly navigated his way off the end of the bed and grabbed a set of clothes before heading to the lounge room with Alaric's help.

Stefan came out of the bathroom in dark blue jeans and a button up black shirt. "I've got blood!" Elena came running in. Stefan smiled at her girlish expression. "Stefan!" She threw her arms around him. "Thank goodness! We were so worried."

"I'm fine." Stefan closed his eyes and hugged her back. Elena smiled when Stefan returned her hug. She missed him so much.

Stefan pulled back. "What's this about blood?"

"Oh!" She pointed to the fridge. "You ran out of blood and I..." She pointed to herself proudly, "went hunting!"

Stefan nodded, amused, "What did you hunt?"

"I got a deer!" Elena was very excited, then she frowned, "I didn't know what to do next so I brought the deer back with me."

Stefan laughed. "I'll deal with the deer."

"No, just tell me what to do and I'll do it. You should be resting."

Stefan grimaced, "It's not the prettiest process and I'm fine. The fever's gone thanks to you guys." He kissed her on the cheek and went out the front door.

Elena watched him leave then turned to Alaric who was on the couch, scratching her head. "He seems okay."

"He does." Alaric agreed. "That's good, right?"

"Is it?" Elena asked, worried. "Damon said he's not in control of his emotions. How do we know this isn't temporary?"

Alaric shook his head, "You forget that I've been here with Stefan the past week. He didn't have mood swings. He was angry and he didn't have an outlet and seeing you and Caroline seemed to make it worse."

Elena sat down on the couch next to Alaric. "Do you know what happened to him when he was looking for Damon? What drove him to give up?"

"You know as much as I do. He gave up because he didn't want to become a monster." Alaric shrugged, "And I think it's better for everyone, especially Stefan, if we just leave it at that."

"You don't think it'll be better for him if he talks about it?"

Alaric sighed, "He has. To the only person who needs to know."

Elena nodded. "Damon."

* * *

Damon groaned as he woke up to an aching back. He stood to stretch out the kinks. "Damn chair." He cursed as the last bone cracked, rolling his head and shoulders. The temperature in the room dropped when he turned his attention to the empty bed. "Where…? Caroline, wake up!" Damon shook her awake. "Stefan's gone!"

"What?" Caroline shot up from her seat and looked around frantically. She looked under the bed. Damon gave her a look that said 'really?' Caroline just shrugged and followed him out of the room.

Alaric stood up at the panic look on Damon and Caroline's faces. "What's wrong?"

"What's wrong? Stefan's gone!"

Elena went over to him. "Stefan's fine." She wrapped her arms around his waist. "He's..." Stefan walked back in then with blood on his hands and chest. He had taken off his shirt so that he wouldn't get blood on it. Good thing too because he had cut into an artery and blood squirted out all over him.

"What happened to you?" Stefan was shocked when Damon grabbed him and checked him over, turning him around. "Where are you hurt?"

Stefan lifted his arms out of the way as Damon turned him this way and that. "What…"

"Where's all this blood coming from?"

Stefan got sick of getting manhandled by his brother and finally shoved his hands away. "I'm f…"

"Don't you dare say 'fine'! This is not fine."

Stefan looked down at himself. "It's not my blood!"

Damon paused at that. "Then who…" He looked over at Caroline who looked as relieved as he was to find out all the blood wasn't Stefan's. "Oh no…you killed Enzo."

Stefan, Alaric and Elena burst out laughing at that. "I hate the guy but I'm pretty sure I can't kill him yet." He shook his head at his brother and walked past him to the bathroom. "Tomorrow, maybe."

Damon and Caroline watched him, a little flabbergasted. "Elena, what's going on?" Caroline asked her best friend.

"Stefan was bleeding out a deer." Elena told them.

"A deer? What was he doing out hunting?" Damon was about to pull his hair out.

"_I_ went hunting. Stefan was…well, you get the picture."

Damon stared at them all before he went over to the kitchen. "I need a drink."

"Pour me one." Caroline seconded. "That was too much drama for one morning."

Alaric and Elena joined them while they waited for Stefan to clean himself up. Stefan came out of the bathroom, towelling his hair. He looked considerably refreshed in a new pair of jeans and a t-shirt. "You know, we've got to find a way to wash blood out. I can't keep buying new clothes."

"Well look whose chipper today." Damon looked him up and down. "Why are you in such a good mood?"

Stefan grabbed a chair and turned it around, straddling it. "Because it has been a while since I haven't been in a bad mood." He smiled at them. "It feels good."

Damon reached over and checked his temperature. Stefan slapped his hand away but not before letting his brother check him quickly. "You don't have a fever."

"Yeah, feels good to not feel so hot."

"So you're okay now?" Alaric asked cautiously.

Stefan thought carefully about that before he answered. "I'm…" He wasn't sure if he was, "getting there, but I know I don't want to be angry anymore. It's a waste of time and effort."

"You had good reasons to be angry at us. We had no right to treat you the way we did. We should've considered the toll of trying to get Damon back, would do to you." Caroline reached over and took his hand. "I'm sorry."

Stefan nodded at her. "Thanks. And thanks for taking care of me last night."

Caroline smiled. She remembered what Damon said to her last night about letting Stefan know that she's okay with being just friends. "Hey, what are best friends for?" Stefan smiled, receiving the message that was unspoken. "Besides it's my fault you got that sick in the first place."

Stefan frowned. "How so?"

Damon stood up, "I think we should leave this conversation for another day. Don't want another episode like yesterday."

Stefan looked up at him, annoyed. "Sit down and spill!"

Damon rolled his eyes and sat down. "Go ahead, Caroline. Tell him what happened yesterday."

Caroline hesitated a little. "I was at the bar with Enzo. I was upset about what's been happening between you and me and he thought he would help me out by getting you to reveal your 'true feelings.'"

"Enzo again." Stefan closed his eyes, trying to not get angry.

"I didn't know what he was planning. He stole my phone before he made up some lame excuse about needing to hunt and left the bar. I spent the day trying to find it. He compelled someone to return it to me after a couple of hours. That's when I saw the message to meet out at that cabin. I was as shocked as anyone to see that cabin blow up." Caroline gave Stefan an apologetic look. "I'm sorry."

Stefan smiled and shook his head. "You didn't know."

Damon looked at his brother, impressed, "You're handling this pretty well."

Stefan laughed but it was dry, "That's what you think. You better call Enzo and tell him to get out of town."

"I already did." Caroline hissed, "If I see his face again I'm going to kill him myself."

"So are you really okay?" Elena asked Stefan.

"If you keep asking me that I might get annoyed." Stefan warned. "I'm fine. The heats gone and..." He got up and grabbed a knife from the kitchen bench. They all jumped when he cut himself deeply with it. "I'm healing at a normal rate." He wiped away the blood and show them his flawless skin. "See?"

"You didn't know that was going to heal." Damon dared him to deny that.

"Come on, Damon. I know my body." Stefan jumped onto the bench, sitting on it. "I feel much better. Anyway, I think I've wasted enough time. Don't you think?" Stefan asked pointedly. "I think it's time to get back on track." The girls looked at him, suspiciously. "I mean…I need to get back on track." He stuttered a little as he tried to cover his slip. They still didn't want the girls knowing about Bonnie. "My life's a bit of a mess right now."

"I can help with that!" Caroline jumped up, excited. "We can get you a place closer to the college. You can enrol in…" She thought about that, "psychology. You'll be great at that!" Stefan couldn't help but smiled at her exuberance. He missed this part of her. "This'll be so fun! We can head over there today!" Stefan started to panic. He looked at Damon for help.

Damon would've liked to see Stefan sweat a little but Stefan was right. They needed to get back to Bonnie. "You know what? I think he needs one more day of rest. Just in case. Why don't you two head back to the college and get the ball rolling for Stefan. Plan out his college schedule for him and then he'll head over tomorrow to sign all the paperwork." Caroline hesitated.

"I am a little tired." Stefan told her, "And I trust you to organise my college years for me."

"Really?" Caroline brightened at that. "I promise you, you won't regret it. I'll make sure we have some classes together!" She jumped up and pulled Elena with her. "We'll see you tomorrow!"

"But…" Elena looked at her boyfriend, wondering how she got dragged into this. Lining up in college queues was not her idea of fun. "I…"

"Sorry, babe." Damon mouthed at her. She narrowed her eyes at him, promising him payback for this. Then she looked up at Stefan who mouthed, "Thank you." She sighed and surrendered herself to a day of boredom.

Damon waited for the sound of Caroline's car leaving Stefan's driveway. "And they are gone! Thank goodness."

"Time to get Bonnie back." Stefan told them.

Damon nodded. "We need a plan."

"A good one." Alaric joined in.

Stefan jumped off the bench. "Glad we're on the same page. Let's do this."

Damon pulled out Mrs Cuddles. "First thing's first. We need a witch."

The boys started putting together everything they knew. They wouldn't rest until they got their friend back.

**The End!**

**Hope y'all liked it!**


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